Free free nose cancer screening for former woodworkers
Wood dust increases the risk of nasal or sinus cancer. Early detection increases the chances of recovery and decreases the risk of serious permanent damage. As a former woodworker, it is therefore very important that screen for nose and sinus cancer in time. All you have to do is make an appointment with an otorhinolaryngologist (ENT specialist).
Moreover, this screening is free of charge if you meet the following requirements:
- you have worked for at least 20 years in the wood industry (in the private sector or in a provincial or local administration) and
- you are at least 55 years old and
- you are no longer working for the employer from where you have been exposed to wood dust, and
- you have (at least) one of the following symptoms:
- your nose is congested on one side for more than 15 days for no apparent reason
- your nose bleeds without any particular shock
- your sense of smell has decreased/you have lost your sense of smell
- your nose bleeds when you blow it
Of course, these signals may have a different origin, but take them seriously if you have worked in the wood industry for a long time.
If you meet all requirements:
- send the Free nose cancer screening application (French) to Fedris;
- wait for Fedris’s answer (we reply as soon as possible). In the event of a positive answer, Fedris will also send you documentation for your ENT doctor. Fedris pays for the cost of the ENT consultation and endoscopy with or without biopsy.
If the screening is positive for nose or sinus cancer, you need to be treated immediately. In principle, your illness should be recognised as an occupational disease. Your ENT doctor will send Fedris the medical report and the result of a biopsy to this end. Fedris will then check whether you are entitled to compensation for an occupational disease.
Fedris takes financial responsibility for a maximum of 2 screenings per person per year.
