More than half of the 5,700 Americans killed by colon cancer in an average year did not need to die, a Johns Hopkins Medical Center expert said.
“At least half of these deaths, and as much as two-thirds, are preventable, just by getting people to colonoscopies,” said Patrick Okolo, the center?s chief of endoscopy.
In honor of Colorectal Cancer Awareness Month, Baltimore County and Franklin Square Hospital have teamed up to provide free colonoscopies and to urge people to take advantage of them.
“We have discovered that just telling people we can get a free colonoscopy isn?t enough to get them to do it,” said Barbara Gentile, oncology program manager at Franklin Square. “If people realize the benefit of screening, they may be willing to participate.”
They are fighting more than ignorance, Baltimore County health officer Pierre Vigilance said. “There?s somewhat of a stigma and a bit of a phobia for some people,” he said. “They perceive it to be a bit uncomfortable and maybe a bit embarrassing. We?ve got to get beyond that phobia.”
While education efforts have led to significant drops in diagnoses and deaths, gains have not been as high for women or minorities, according to the Centers for DiseaseControl and Prevention.
“Penetrations rates among women and minorities are low, because people assume it?s not really a problem,” Okolo said. “In reality, it affects men and women in equal numbers, but affects minorities in unequal levels. They are slightly more likely to contract this horrible disease.”
AT A GLANCE
Colon cancer is one of the few that is easily detected and treated without surgery before it can spread to other parts of the body, said Patrick Okolo, Johns Hopkins Medical Center?s chief of endoscopy.
A colonoscopy is a painless and effective way to find pre-cancerous polyps. Those growths then can be removed in a simple outpatient procedure.
