SOUTH DAKOTA DEPARTMENT OF HEALTH
FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE: Thursday, July 22, 2010
CONTACT: Norma Schmidt, (605) 773-3737
Colorectal cancer screening program goes statewide
PIERRE, S.D. – The GetScreenedSD colorectal cancer screening program is expanding statewide, the South Dakota Department of Health announced today. GetScreenedSD. encourages all men and women 50 years of age and older to get screened for this preventable cancer. Financial help is available for those who meet income guidelines.
“Colorectal cancer is preventable and treatable when it’s found early with the appropriate screening,” Norma Schmidt, Cancer Program Director for the Department of Health. “We’re very pleased to have so many providers working with us to make this lifesaving screening available statewide.”
Colorectal cancer is the second leading cause of cancer death in the United States, but it doesn’t have to be. The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention estimates that at least 60% of colorectal cancer deaths could be prevented if everyone over the age of 50 had regular screening tests. In South Dakota, an average of 165 people died annually from colorectal cancer from 2003 to 2007.
GetScreenedSD materials will encourage those who are 50 years of age and over to get screened with either a take home test or a colonoscopy. The program began in 2009 with six pilot clinics and has now expanded with nearly 200 clinics across South Dakota agreeing to participate. The expansion is made possible through partners including the American Cancer Society, US Bank, Wellmark, Dakotacare, and cancer treatment centers in Aberdeen, Rapid City, Mitchell, Sioux Falls, Yankton, and Watertown.
Increasing the number of people who get screened for chronic diseases such as colorectal cancer is a key objective of the department’s Health 2020 Initiative.