FREE Colon Cancer Detection Kit - Phone In

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Screenings for Colorectal Cancer May Save Lives

Friday, 26 February 2010



Houston Northwest Medical Center is offering free EZ-detect colon cancer kits during the month of March, which is National Colorectal Cancer Awareness Month. For your free kit call 281-580-0000. Limit two kits per household, please. Kits are available while supplies last.


Excluding skin cancers, colorectal cancer is the third most common type of cancer diagnosed in the United States. Colorectal cancer occurs when abnormal cells begin to grow in the colon or rectum. While this process can take several years, most colorectal cancers begin as a small pre-cancerous growth known as a polyp. The majority of people with colorectal cancer do not know they have the disease because they have no symptoms until the cancer reaches an advanced stage.


Statistics show that the risks for colorectal cancer can be reduced through early detection, and the key to that is timely screenings. The American Cancer Society recommends that adults be screened starting at age 50. If you have a family or personal history that puts you at higher risk for colorectal cancer, you may need earlier or more frequent screenings.

“Colorectal cancer is a topic that many people have not talked much about, but that could be a serious problem,” says Thomas Newton, M.D., colon and rectal surgeon on the medical staff at Houston Northwest Medical Center. “If left untreated, colon cancer could spread to other parts of the body or become incurable with surgery. Fortunately, colorectal cancer can be prevented or successfully treated when detected early – we all just need to be screened.”
While anyone can get colorectal cancer, there are several known risk factors that may affect a person’s likelihood of developing the disease. Age is clearly a significant risk factor for colorectal cancer. Although the disease can occur at any age, more than 90 percent of people diagnosed with colorectal cancer are older than 50. Other risk factors for the disease include family history, diet, lack of exercise, obesity, smoking, and a history of colorectal cancer, intestinal polyps, or chronic bowel disease.


For more information about colorectal cancer, take Houston Northwest Medical Center’s free online Colorectal Cancer Risk Assessment at www.hnmc.com/coloncancerrisks.