SINGAPORE: Medical surveys show that one in 50 people could fall prey to colorectal cancer.

But the chances of you getting the cancer could go up significantly to one in two if you have close relatives who were stricken with the disease or with associated cancers - including cancers of the endometrium, small bowel, ureter and renal pelvis.

With more than 1,200 new cancer cases seen each year, the Singapore General Hospital (SGH) wants to nip the problem in the bud.

60-year-old Tan Chew Lee is leading a full life, after his brush with colorectal cancer.

Having lost two family members to the disease, he is grateful that timely detection and treatment saved his life.

Mr Tan said: "I didn't resist, and I wasn't afraid. The doctor said that without the operation, the colon would rupture. So the operation was mandatory."

Because the disease has a genetic transmission rate of about 40 per cent, the hospital wants to target families with a predisposition to the disease.

SGH's head of colorectal surgery department, Professor Eu Kong Weng, said: "We have set up a genetic counselling division within the Department of Colorectal Surgery in SGH, which can thereby counsel you, your relatives as to what their risks are, and whether they indeed have inherited this genetic risk, and thereby asking them to come down for the appropriate screening, colonoscopy and even surgery."

To raise awareness on the prevention and treatment of colorectal cancer, the SGH is organising an outreach event at the Suntec City Mall from August 16-17.

The Colorectal Cancer Awareness Outreach Event will feature interactive games, exhibits and even a mock-up operating theatre.

Colorectal cancer test kits will also be given free to eligible participants aged 40 and below who have a family history of the disease. The Singapore General Hospital will offer free colonoscopy to those with positive results.

- CNA/ir