By SALINA POST
March is Colorectal Cancer Awareness Month, and the Tammy Walker Cancer Center in Salina wants to make sure that screening kits are available for those who want them.
Thanks to some generous donors, 800 free colorectal cancer screening kits are available for people ages 45 to 75 at all Salina and Lindsborg pharmacies while supplies last.
Colorectal cancer is the third-most common cancer found in both men and women. According to the National Cancer Institute, since the 1990s the rate of colorectal cancer has more than doubled among adults younger than age 50, Daniel Craig, cancer outreach coordinator for the Tammy Walker Cancer Center told Salina Post.
"On May 18, 2021, in response to the higher incidence and mortality of colorectal cancer in younger adults the United States Preventive Task Force released a final recommendation statement that screening for colorectal cancer be offered starting at age 45," Craig noted.
The good news is that if found early, colorectal cancer is often highly curable, thus the free colorectal cancer screening kits.
According to information from the Tammy Walker Cancer Center, the screening uses an advanced fecal blood test that requires a single sample and has no food or drug restrictions. The samples can then be mailed to the Tammy Walker Cancer Center for lab analysis via a pre-paid postage envelope provided by May 30.
Results of the test will be returned to both patients and their primary care physicians.
Due to COVID-19 restrictions on entry at the Tammy Walker Cancer Center, officials ask that all tests be returned by mail.
"Regular colorectal cancer screening is one of the most powerful weapons against colorectal cancer. Colorectal cancer screening tests can find precancerous polyps, so that they can be removed before they turn into cancer. Screening tests can also find colorectal cancer early, when treatment works best," Craig. "The colonoscopy is the gold standard for preventing colorectal cancer. All men and women should have a colonoscopy at age 45 to screen for colorectal cancer. Those with a family history of the disease should talk to their physician about screening at a younger age."
The screening kits were made available, in part, thanks to grant funding from the Salina Charities League, Wilson Family Charitable Trust, and Salina Regional Health Foundation. Additional support for paid media was provided by the Kansas Department of Health and Environment Cancer Program in support of the North Central Regional Coalition.
Individuals who would like a screening test mailed to them can call Craig at 785-452-4848.