National Colon Cancer Screening Day Sets New Record

NASHVILLE, Tenn., March 15, 2013 /PRNewswire/ -- StopColonCancerNow.com celebrated National Colon Cancer Screening Day with gladness in mind as it exceeded its goal of motivating more than 2,013 new patients to seek colon cancer screenings. 

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With March being both the pinnacle of the college basketball season as well as Colon Cancer Awareness Month, StopColonCancerNow.com aimed to encourage people to rally around their health in the same way that they rally around their favorite team. As part of March Gladness, National Screening Day on March 8 was the day to get in the game and have a colonoscopy.

When caught early, colon cancer has a 90 percent survival rate. Colonoscopy is the most effective way to detect colon cancer, as well as pre-cancerous polyps.

"We are exceedingly glad that our efforts to educate people about the importance of colon cancer screening were effective," said Dr. John Popp, Medical Advisor to StopColonCancerNow.com.  "Though National Screening Day is important, every day should be National Screening Day.   If this were the case, we would see the number of colon cancer cases decline rapidly because it is largely a preventable disease."

Those who are at risk for colon cancer include anyone over the age of 50, African-Americans who are 45 years of age and over and those who have a family history of polyps or colon cancer.

A colonoscopy allows doctors to find and remove precancerous polyps before they develop into cancer, making a colonoscopy the only test that allows both diagnosis and treatment at the same time. Colonoscopy can also find cancer at its earliest stage, when treatment works best. 

For more information or to schedule your first colonoscopy, visit www.StopColonCancerNow.com.

About StopColonCancerNow.com 
StopColonCancerNow.com is a community of more than 1,000 physicians who have joined forces to promote education and awareness about colon cancer screening and prevention. AmSurg, provider of approximately one in every 10 colonoscopies in the United States, launched the campaign in 2009 as part of its commitment to provide the highest level of care and information to people at risk for colon cancer. For more information on colon cancer and the importance of screening, visit www.StopColonCancerNow.com.

SOURCE StopColonCancerNow.com