March is Colon Cancer Awareness Month, and the New York City Health and Hospitals Corporation (HHC) is urging Queens residents age 50 and older to get screened.
“Unlike some cancers, colon cancer is preventable, treatable and beatable,” said HHC President Alan D. Aviles. “Since we began our annual campaign in 2003, the number of colonoscopies provided by HHC doctors every year has nearly tripled.”
Queens residents with no health insurance can get a colon screening at Queens Hospital Center, Elmhurst Hospital Center, or any HHC hospital at little or no cost throughout the year. Colonoscopy screening cannot only identify pre-cancerous polyps, but it can also detect abnormal growths in the colon or rectum and can detect colon cancer at an early stage, when treatment often leads to a cure.
In 2009, HHC’s Queens hospitals administered about 4,000 screenings, removed pre-cancerous polyps from over 600 individuals, identified, and removed potentially life-threatening cancerous polyps from 55 people.
According to the New York City Department of Health and Mental Hygiene, 44 percent of Queens residents over age 50 had a colonoscopy in the past 10 years. The study also found that colon cancer, in addition to lung and blood-related cancers, causes one of the highest cancer-related deaths among men in Northeast Queens. However, the department also found that deaths from colorectal cancer have decreased by 13 percent since 2003.
“When it comes to colon cancer, one test can literally save your life,” said New York City Health Commissioner Dr. Thomas Farley. “Colonoscopy is the only screening test that can actually prevent cancer.”
Both men and women over age 50 should have a colonoscopy once every ten years. People with a family history of colon cancer should speak with their healthcare provider about an advanced screening beginning at age 35 or 40.
Farley added that although colon cancer is still claiming the lives many New Yorkers every year, “We will continue to work with HHC and our community and medical partners to raise awareness and increase screening accessibility.”
“Our goal is to make this screening test a routine part of healthcare for all New Yorkers over the age of 50,” said Aviles. “It is important for all of us to remind our family, friends and other New Yorkers about the importance of early screening to prevent colon cancer.”
HHC will be advocating the month-long campaign with multilingual brochures, postcards, and posters to be distributed to dozens of organizations throughout the city. HHC physicians experts will also be available to speak about the importance of prompt colonoscopies.
For more information on colon screenings or HHC, visit www.nyc.gov/hhc or to connect to an HHC hospital near you, dial 3-1-1.
