Free colon cancer testing

About 2.8 million Greek citizens aged 50-69 will be given the opportunity to do free tests for colon cancer, including a colonoscopy and biopsy.

The national pre-symptomatic testing program will allow people not already diagnosed with colon cancer, Lynch syndrome, adenomatous polypsis, Crohn's disease and ulcerative colitis to get a self-test, free of charge, from pharmacies.

Depending on the results, people will be referred for further tests, including colonoscopy and biopsy, also free of charge.

The programs aims at a timely diagnosis of a disease whose incidence is increasing. There are an estimated 6,500 new cases each year in Greece, with 3,400 deaths in 2020.