Lives To Be Saved With ‘Need Not Race’ Approach To Bowel Cancer Screening“The Government’s move to lower the eligibility age for free bowel cancer screening to 58 is another victory for the principle of ‘need, not race’ – and it will save lives,” says ACT Leader David Seymour, ahead of changes coming into effect on Monday. “Bowel cancer screening was a classic example of Labour’s wrong-headed approach. But bowel cancer risk is driven by age, not race. The reason more Māori and Pacific people are diagnosed younger is because those populations are younger on average – not because bowel cancer biology is different by race. “It shows, when you use real science and real statistics you don’t have to be racist.