Colon cancer is a very deadly cancer.
Doctors say it’s the third leading cause of cancer worldwide.
That’s why doctors at Covenant Health are providing a free Colonoscopy screening to the community.
“In 2018 180,000 people had colon cancer and 60,000 people died of it,” said Dr. Matthew Soape, a Gastroenterologist with Covenant Health.
Dr. Soape says colon cancer is a preventable disease.
“If we catch people at appropriate times and we catch these polyps at an early stage, we take them out and we stop the progression for the possibility of colon cancer,” Dr. Soape said.
During a colonscopy doctors look for polyps.
“A colon polyp can be a precancerous leision and if we can catch it early then take it out and we actually stop the risk of it later down the years,” explained Dr. Soape.
But sometimes people don’t have the resources to get a colonscopy.
That’s why Covenant Health is doing free colonscopies for the community.
It’s the 6th year for the event.
The screening is for anyone 50 or over, with no previous colonscopy, and must qualify for financial assistance.
Dr. Soape says it’s a group effort to put together this free event.
“Not only us at GI physicians, we have pathologists devoting time to this, we have anesthesiologists devoting time, nursing staff, and support technicians,” said Dr. Soape.
And he hopes they’ll save lives because of it.
The free screening is Saturday, March 23rd, but you must register by Friday, March 15th.
If you are interested call (806) 725-7448.