Offered in conjunction with National Colorectal Cancer Awareness month, the screening is offered every year to promote early detection and cancer prevention in the community. According to the hospital's Endoscopy Nurse Manager Mary Rogers, whose department offers the screening, early detection is essential in reducing mortality from colon cancer, which results in 56,000 deaths each year. While colorectal cancer is the number two cancer killer in the U.S., it is one of the most preventable types of cancer, and curable when detected early. A screening test can help to prevent the disease and save lives. Using a take-home fecal occult blood test kit, participants can take the test in the privacy of their home and mail it back to the hospital for testing.
Results are typicaly available within a few weeks.
According to the American Cancer Society, a fecal occult blood test is recommended every year and a colonoscopy every 10 years for anyone 50 and older or others at high risk for the disease.