Issue 58
April was National Colorectal Cancer Awareness Month, and
Quest Diagnostics is proud to be able to help support you and your employees prevent this deadly cancer.
Each year, approximately 150,000 people in the United States are diagnosed with colorectal cancer1, making it the third most common type of cancer. With 50,000 annual deaths, or one-third of all diagnosed cases, colorectal cancer is the second leading cause of cancer deaths. These numbers are even more tragic because, if diagnosed in its initial stages, studies show a 90% survival rate beyond five years.
The American Cancer Society’s guidelines recommend an annual fecal immunochemical test screening for anyone over 50 years of age; however, national compliance for the recommended screening ages is estimated to only be about 33-50%. This alarming-low compliance rate occurs because these screenings are generally considered to be uncomfortable, embarrassing and easy to avoid.
But there is a solution. Quest Diagnostics offers a non-invasive, easy-to-administer, life-saving screening test called InSure® FITTM. This unique method requires no fasting, no doctor’s visit, and no messy sample collection. Our belief is that if it is easy and simple to be screened, people will take the test, which means there is a better chance of detecting this cancer early enough to save lives.
Our goal at Quest Diagnostics is to reach five million people over the age of 50 in the next five years. Visit www.doyouhavetheguts.com to learn more about our educational effort: “It’s Time to Challenge Colon Cancer: Do You Have the Guts?” Here you will find information about cancer risks, screening options, and a forum for sharing individual experiences with the disease. Getting a program set up in your company is easy; just call 800-654-7824 to get started.
By adding colorectal screening to an existing benefit program, your organization can raise awareness about “the cancer no one has to have.”
Review by Dr. Ramaz Mitaishvili
