Cologuard is a kit that allows people to screen for colon cancer at home.[/caption]
Austin Regional Clinic is completing a pilot program using Cologuard, a kit that allows people to screen for colon cancer at home by collecting their own stool samples and mailing them to a lab in a prepaid package.
In an effort to increase the number patients who need to be screened for colon cancer, ARC sent Cologuard to 1,500 Medicare patients in March.
Dr. Anas Daghestani, medical director for Population Health at ARC, said nearly 500 kits—more than 30 percent—have been completed and returned so far, and participants have until the end of June to return the kits. The average return rate for other at-home colon cancer screening tests is about 12 percent, he said.
A colonoscopy allows physicians to look for and remove polyps, or small growths, in the large intestine. Polyps can take seven to 10 years to become cancerous, making colon cancer one of the most preventable types of cancers, Daghestani said.
Nonetheless, colorectal cancer is the second-leading cause of cancer death in the United States, he said.
Adults age 50 and older should have a colonoscopy every 10 years, but Daghestani said at ARC only about half of those recommended for the screening are following through.
Daghestani said ARC plans to conduct a more extensive pilot of Cologuard in September.
