CORTLANDT MANOR, N.Y., Nov. 11, 2010 /PRNewswire/ — Colorectal
cancer (CRC) are two words that most people don’t want to talk or
even think about. But for 50,000 Americans every year, the disease
takes their life. Colorectal cancer is the second leading cause of
cancer-related death; a figure that may dramatically decrease if
Americans are regularly screened for this treatable disease.
Colorectal cancer, if detected early, is one of the most curable
cancers.
The U.S. Preventive Services Task Force recommends that people
ages 50 to 75 receive an annual fecal occult blood test (FOBT),
either the Fecal Immunochemical Test (FIT) or guaiac type, that
checks for hidden blood in the stool. This age group should
also undergo a sigmoidoscopy procedure every five years, and
colonoscopy every 10 years to check for signs of colorectal
cancer.
An aggressive preventive screening program, like the one at
Kaiser Permanente, uses the Fecal Immunochemical Test (FIT) for
convenient and accurate annual screening. FIT is a take-home
test used for detecting gastrointestinal bleeding associated with
disorders such as colorectal cancer, polyps and colitis. Screening
rates for colorectal cancer lag far behind screening for other
diseases, like cervical and breast cancer. Kaiser Permanente has
already seen a 28 percent increase in the diagnosis of early,
curable colon cancers.
“At Kaiser Permanente, we believe that if there is more focus on
prevention and education, rather than on illness, this country
could eliminate or greatly decrease diseases such as cancer of the
colon and rectum,” said Dr. Jeffrey Weisz, Oncologist and Executive
Medical Director for Kaiser Permanente Southern California. “We are
proving this theory and putting it into practice with simple
screening tests.”
Weisz says screening is the most realistic approach to reducing
new cases by finding non-cancerous colorectal polyps and removing
them before they become cancerous. Prior
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