There are about 2,000 cases of colorectal cancer in Ireland each year leading to significant disability and mortality.Tallaght Hospital is extremely committed to screening for colon cancer and to the removal of certain polyps which can lead to cancer.
Tallaght hospital performs over three thousand colonoscopies per year in our three endoscopy suites. Our endoscopists are experienced in removing all forms of polyps including very difficult polyps.Tallaght hospital was the first hospital in Ireland to begin a programme of screening for colon cancer similar to the nationwide program in the UK.
In anticipation of a nationwide colon cancer screening program using immunochemical tests to detect microscopic traces of blood in the stool, Tallaght has been conducting a pilot screening program. This began in December of 2008 and has almost completed it’s second round of screening. The results of the first round have been published already in peer reviewed scientific journals.
As part of this pilot we have also tested new stool markers and we are the first centre using capsule colonoscopy to screen for polyps and cancers.
Tallaght hospital has been shortlisted as one of the potential screening centres for the awaited national colorectal cancer screening programme. Our lab is also the first in Ireland to begin using the Faecal Immunochemical Test (FIT) and has experience and research based on that.
