Colorectal cancer is the second leading cause of cancer-related deaths in Arizona. Across men and women, all age groups, races, and ethnicities, about ½ of all colorectal cancer diagnoses in Arizona are late-stage, which are more difficult to treat. Our Fit at Fifty HealthCheck Program screens about 1,500 Arizonans per year by providing Fecal Immunochemical Tests and colonoscopies for individuals who qualify. For more information about the Fit at Fifty program, contact Emily Wozniak or Virginia Warren.
The CDC, the American Cancer Society, National Colorectal Cancer Roundtable, and Health Resources Services Administration have kicked off the “80% by 2018” initiative to prioritize colorectal cancer screenings nationwide. This movement aims to get 80% of Americans screened for colorectal cancer by 2018. This is a result of the facts surrounding the status of colorectal cancer screening nationwide: not enough Americans are up-to-date on their screenings, and too many are being diagnosed with colorectal cancer at late stages. According to the American Cancer Society, the lifetime risk of developing colorectal cancer is about 1 in 20.
