26.7 percent had undergone current CRC screening with no gender difference in rates. Almost all agreed
that CRC would lead to suffering (89.8%), death (84.6%) and would pose significant treatment cost and expense
(83.1%). The majority (88.5%) agreed that screening aids early detection and cure but only 35.4% felt susceptible to
CRC. Nearly three-quarters (74.3%) of the respondents recalled reading or hearing information on CRC in the print
or broadcast media. However, only 22.6% were advised by their physicians to undergo screening. Significantly more
women than men had feared a positive diagnosis, held embarrassment, pain and risk concerns about colonoscopy
and had friends and family members who encouraged screening. On multivariate analysis, screening uptake
showed a positive association with worry about contracting CRC and a physician’s recommendation and a negative
association with perceived pain about colonoscopy for both genders. For women only, screening was positively
associated with having attended a public talk on CRC and having a family member with CRC, and was negatively
associated with Malay race and perceived danger of colonoscopy.