CentraCare Offering Free Colon Screening Kits

ST. CLOUD – It’s Colon Cancer Awareness Month, and CentraCare is offering free take-home colon screening kits for people 50 and older all month long.

Colon and rectal cancer are leading causes of cancer death for both men and women, but can be prevented with routine screenings. CentraCare says screenings should begin at age 50, or sooner for people with a family history of cancer or other risk factors.

Beginning Monday, free immunochemical fecal occult blood test (iFOBT) take-home colon screening kits will available at the drive-up window of CentraCare Pharmacy at St. Cloud Hospital or at the Coborn Healing Center, located at CentraCare Plaza. Anyone interested in a kit is asked to print and complete a consent form and drop it off at either location.

Supplies are limited and people must be present to pick up their own kits.

CentraCare says the iFOBT screening does not replace a colonoscopy, which is the best method to detect colorectal cancer.

For more information, visit CentraCare’s website.