Photo credit: Marisol Ponce de Leon
After the inaugural Get Your Rear in Gear – San Francisco event last year, the Colon Cancer Coalition was able to give a grant for over $21,000 to Operation Access (OA). OA works with community health centers in the San Francisco Bay Area to provide donated colonoscopies to low income and uninsured patients who receive positive results from a Fecal Immunochemical Test (FIT), are at above-average risk for colorectal cancer, or need a diagnostic colonoscopy.
With these donated colonoscopies, OA provides preventative care and early detection to people that may not otherwise receive this service. In 2016 alone, they coordinated 195 donated colonoscopies – a service they plan to grow through our grant.
The grant will enable them to expanded the donated colonoscopy services through new partnerships with Bay Area endoscopy centers, hospitals, and specialist – which will result in an additional 20 colonoscopies. It will also help fund training at two free clinics (Clinic by the Bay and San Francisco Free Clinic) for staff referring routine or average risk patients for a colonoscopy to volunteer providers in San Francisco.
The OA team is ready for some colonoscopies. Photo credit: Marisol Ponce de Leon
On December 10, 2016, OA coordinated 10 donated colonoscopies at Kaiser Oakland for people at-risk for colon cancer, and the team removed 6 polyps – 3 of which were cancerous. Because of screening services like this, these cancers were caught in their earliest, treatable stages.
We look forward to working with OA in expanding their efforts and providing even more colonoscopies those those in need. Get Your Rear in Gear – San Francisco is Sunday, July 9. Funds raised through the event will continue to make a difference in fight against colorectal cancer in the San Francisco Bay Area.
OA staff, Back row l-r: Antoine de Fridman, Sandrena Frischer, Lauren Brunner, Daniel Rabkin, Frank Celaya (from SF Toyota, GYRIG Title Sponsor), Jason Beers, Scott Benbow. Front Row l-r: Marisol Gomez, Lien Tu (GYRIG Committee Member), Jenny Yu (GYRIG Event Director), Ali Balick (OA staff and GYRIG Committee Member), Zainab Altai, Marilyn Sanchez, Carlos Cortez.
My wife is 47 uninsured needs a colonoscopy but can’t afford can you help her
Hi David, where are you located?