FCHD to offer FIT screening for colorectal cancer

Rhonda Andrews knows first-hand the importance of early detection of colon cancer, and the administrator of the Fayette County Health Department wants to make it easier for local residents to be tested.
Andrews, who lost her husband to colon cancer about two years ago, is a member of numerous colon cancer coalitions, and was at a presentation about the Fecal Immunochemical Testing Project starting up in primary care centers.
Andrews “started doing a lot of research” on the FIT Project and working to see about the testing being available through local health departments.
As the president of the Illinois Association of Public Health Administrators, Andrews lobbied for that availability, and it is now a pilot project in Illinois.
“We thought it would be good to have it in five or six places,” she said. “We now have 33, maybe 34 places.”
Colorectal cancer is the third-most prevalent type of cancer and the second-leading cause of cancer death in the U.S.
A person’s lifetime risk of developing colorectal cancer is 1 in 20, and while it is one of the deadliest forms of cancer, it can be cured if caught early or prevented altogether, according to FIT Project information from the Fayette County Health Department.
The FIT screening “may be a good option to people ages 50-75 who are resistant to colonoscopy,” that information states.
According to the American Cancer Society website, “Regular colorectal cancer screening is one of the most powerful weapons against colorectal cancer.
“When colorectal cancer is found at an early stage before it has spread, the 5-year relative survival rate is about 90 percent.”
Regular colonoscopies can often find colorectal cancer early, when it is most likely to be curable, or prevent it altogether.  
The reasons that people don’t want to have a colonoscopy, Andrews said, include the cost and the time off from work.
“This is an option for people who for whatever reason won’t do a colonscopy,” Andrews said. “It’s an easy at-home stool test.
“It’s very easy to do, very convenient to do,” she said.
While a colonoscopy is an absolute way to detect a problem, Andrews said, screening with a FIT kit “is much better than doing nothing.”
As for the cost, Andrews said that residents who request a FIT kit can provide the FCHD with Medicare, Medicaid or private insurance information.
If the kit is returned to the health department and no polyps are found, it will be billed as screening, at no out-of-pocket cost to the individual. If there are polyps that require removal, it will be coded as diagnostic, and the individual could incur some costs.
If a person receives a kit and doesn’t return it with a sample, the individual will be charged $25.
The FIT kit is a good way of screening for colorectal cancer, Andrews said, “because even a small polyp will have blood.”
She emphasizes that the FIT screening, which should be done annually, does not take the place of a colonoscopy, which must be done every 10 years.
“It is an option for people looking for a comfortable way to screen for colon cancer,” she said.
In October, residents who choose this type of screening can begin receiving FIT kits from the FCHD, either at the health department office at 416 W. Edwards St. in Vandalia or at one of the flu vaccine clinics that the department is offering next month.
The goal of Fayette County Health Department is to make the process more accommodating by offering these kits to individuals when they arrive to receive their annual flu vaccine.
The clinic dates are:
• Tuesday, Oct. 3 – 2-5 p.m., FCHD office, 416 W. Edwards St., Vandalia.
• Thursday, Oct. 12 – 10 a.m.-noon, Farina American Legion Community Center; and St. Peter Village Hall, 1:15-3:15 p.m.
• Tuesday, Oct. 17 – FCHD office, 10 a.m.-noon.
• Monday, Oct. 23 – Ramsey American Legion Home, 1-3 p.m.
• Tuesday, Oct. 24 – Brownstown VFW Home, 1-3 p.m.
• Thursday, Oct. 26 – St. Elmo City Hall, 8:30-10:30 a.m.
• Tuesday, Oct. 31 – FCHD office.