Highland in the News
Highland Endoscopy Center Raising Awareness of
Colon Cancer Screenings
March is national Colon Cancer Awareness Month. To help spread the message that regular colorectal screenings can save lives, the Highland Endoscopy Center at Highland Hospital is passing out “Buddy Bracelets” to all patients who come in for a screening exam in March. The bracelet is meant to be passed on to a family member, friend or coworker who is due for their screening, to encourage them to make an appointment. That patient is then encouraged to pass the bracelet to someone else – to create a chain of awareness and action in the fight against colorectal cancer. Colorectal cancer (CRC) is known as a silent killer because many times symptoms are not present until the cancer is advanced. In the early stages of the disease, the survival rate is 90%. CRC is “preventable, beatable and treatable” when it is discovered in time to treat.
Screening for colorectal cancer is performed with a routine colonoscopy. The American Cancer Society recommends that regular screening begin at age 50 for those with average risk. It may be done earlier for those with family history or increased risk.
The state-of-the-art Highland Endoscopy Center was the setting for a March 1 RNews report of a patient’s screening colonoscopy, featuring Paul Dziwis, M.D., Grace Smith, R.N., CGRN, and Vehid Basic, R.N. from Highland.
- For more about Colorectal Cancer:
