CMC raises colon cancer awareness in walk around Grand Coulee

Coulee Medical Center employees walked into local businesses last Friday to spread awareness about colon cancer.

The walk was a new local twist on a longstanding emphasis in medicine - prevention.

Eighteen CMC employees walked from the hospital to more than 25 local businesses in Grand Coulee, where they gave gift bags that included pamphlets about colon cancer and CMC's services, stickers, bracelets, and fiber bars.

Chief Medical Officer Doctor Sam Hsieh told The Star a bit about colon cancer and the importance of detecting it early.

"The American Cancer Society has recommended people to start getting their first colonoscopy at the age of 45," he said. "Or, if you have an immediate family member that had colon cancer, you should get a colonoscopy 10 years before the age of their diagnosis, whichever one is earlier."

"The scary thing about colon cancer is that it could be asymptomatic!" he said. "That is why screening is important. Some symptoms may include blood in stool, change in bowel habits, change in caliber of stool, anemia, and unintentional weight loss."

"It is important that we know that this can be preventable with screening and early detection!" he said. "We are seeing younger and younger people get diagnosed with colon cancer, and that is why the American Cancer Society has lowered the recommended screening age from 50 to 45 years old."

He said it is "very important" to catch colon cancer early. 

"We can prevent colon cancer by early detection and early removal of precursors of cancers such as adenomatous polyps during a colonoscopy," he said. "There are many ways to screen for colon cancer. Colonoscopy and stool tests are the two most common ways. My recommendation is to get a colonoscopy as it is diagnostic and therapeutic. If everything is normal, you may not need another for 10 years. However, the best screening test is always the test that will get done!"

The cause of colon cancer could be related to genetics or come from lifestyle attributes such as a poorly balanced diet or smoking, he said.

CMC Marketing & Communications Coordinator Alex Velazquez, who helped organize the walk, said that in the past they have made colon cancer awareness shirts but that "this year we wanted to do something that got us out into the community."

Chief Executive Officer Ramona Hicks said that the hospital has participated in things like the Over The Dam Run, but otherwise the colon cancer awareness walk was the first of its kind for CMC.

"We highly encourage people to come in and talk with their providers and identify if they're at risk [for colon cancer] and get something going before things advance if that's the case," she said.

"I think it's an honor to be out in our community and bring the face of the staff and everybody out to take care of our community," she added. "That's what we're here for."