Wake Forest University Baptist Medical Center and Affiliates Sponsor Free Colon Cancer WINSTON-SALEM, N.C. – Colon cancer is the fourth most common cancer in the United States, and the second leading cause of cancer death. The reason for the high mortality rate is the majority of colon cancers are not detected until they have spread to other areas of the body.
While these statistics may be daunting, colon cancer is one of the few cancers that can be screened effectively and successfully treated if detected early. Colon Cancer affects both men and women equally. People age 50 or older, or with a family history of colon cancer, should be tested annually.
Wake Forest University Baptist Medical Center, Hugh Chatham Memorial Hospital, Lexington Memorial Hospital, the American Cancer Society, and WXII are joining forces to provide a month-long free colon cancer screening campaign for area residents.
Beginning March 11, free fecal occult blood test (FOBT) screening kits will be available at area Wal-Mart pharmacies. Participants can pick up a free kit at Wal-Mart, complete the simple test at home and mail it in to have the test evaluated. Results will be mailed to each participant.
The colon cancer screening runs through April 8.
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Media Contacts: Jonnie Rohrer, jrohrer@wfubmc.edu, 336-716-6972; Shannon Koontz, shkoontz@wfubmc.edu, or Karen Richardson, krchrdsn@wfubmc.edu, at 336-716-4587.
About Wake Forest University Baptist Medical Center: Wake Forest Baptist is an academic health system comprised of North Carolina Baptist Hospital and Wake Forest University School of Medicine. It is licensed to operate 1,282 acute care, psychiatric, rehabilitation and long-term care beds and is consistently ranked as one of “America’s Best Hospitals” by U.S. News & World Report.