In advance of the 2013 Get Your Rear in Gear – Twin Cities event on April 21, the Star Tribune published a story highlighting the importance of colonoscopy in prevention and early detection of colon cancer. The story featured interviews a comments from the Colon Cancer Coalition’s executive director, Anne Carlson, as well as several in the medical community in the Minneapolis/St. Paul area, spokespersons from Minnesota Gastroenterology.
Excerpt from the article:
Pereira cited three “primary barriers” that people confront when committing to a colonoscopy: the preparation, the exam and the sedation.
Anne Carlson, executive director of the Colon Cancer Coalition, listed three slightly different barriers. “People are scared of the prep. They’re scared of the cost. And honestly, they’re scared of having cancer.”
Being scared of the disease, of course, is a good reason to get a colonoscopy. Colon cancer is the second-leading cause of cancer death in the United States, and these screenings can reduce colon cancer by two-thirds, Brosam said. The five-year survival rate is 67 to 74 percent for stage I, IIA and IIIA, according to the American Cancer Society.
Still, less than 40 percent of Americans with health insurance are getting screened, Carlson said.
Read the entire article at StarTribune.com.
The article also contained many sidebars, including:
