Not Enough People Are Getting Colon Cancer Screenings

Colon Cancer kills thousands of Americans every year. However, many of those lives could have been saved with a simple test. Even though colonoscopy's have come a long way, many simply aren't going in to be screened. Connie Rogers was diagnosed with colon cancer seven years ago.

"It was very unnerving," Rogers said. Despite her bleak diagnosis, Rogers is now cancer free, thanks to a colon cancer screening and caressive treatment. Yet, many people never get that far. "Colon cancer kills a lot of people that it shouldn't because they didn't get screened," Rogers said. Dr. James Hobley, a gastrointestinal specialist in Shreveport, says everyone should be screened for colon cancer every 10 years starting at age 50 and earlier if you have a family history of colon cancer. However, many people simply are not coming in for the screening.

" A lot of people are really nervous about the test," Hobley says," they don't know about it therefore anything invasive to them is a turn off." But, a colonoscopy is not what it used to be. "Patient comfort level has increased so much and our ability to detect and treat these precancerous growths is really at a point now where testing is very easy," Hobley said. With Medicare, the first screening is free. It's a test that can be the difference between life and death. Connie says she is living proof and that's a joy she wants more people to experience. For more information on colon cancer and Medicare screenings, you can contact the American Cancer Society by visiting www.cancer.org or call 1-800-ACS-2345.