Upcoming Events and Screenings
| Entire Month of March- Free Colorectal Screening Kits (FOBT) |
| In recognition of National Colon Cancer Awareness Month in March, the Tammy Walker Cancer Center at Salina Regional Health Center, American Cancer Society and Kansas Department of Health and Environment, with help from a generous grant by Salina Charities League, are making 600 colon cancer screening kits available free of charge on a first come, first serve basis. The kits can be picked up at any Salina pharmacy, the Salina Family Healthcare Center, Tammy Walker Cancer Center and the Salina Senior Center. The screening kits, which are available to anyone aged 50 and older, include easy directions and information on how to obtain a stool sample for a fecal occult blood test. The samples can then be mailed to Salina Regional Health Center for lab analysis via a pre-paid postage envelope provided. Results of the test will be mailed to both the patient and their primary care physician. Participants in the screening should return their samples for analysis by April 15. Colon cancer is the third most common cancer found in both men and women, and is the second leading cancer killer in the United States according to the American Cancer Society. But fortunately about 90 percent of people who find colon cancer in the earliest stages can be successfully treated. The American Cancer Society recommends everyone aged 50 and older be screened for colon cancer with an annual fecal occult blood test or fecal immunochemical test, a colonoscopy every 10 years and other tests as directed by a physician. Those with family history of the disease should consider annual screening sooner. For more information about the free colon cancer screening kits contact Linda Hinnenkamp at (785) 452-4848. |
