Cancer

Early Detection of Cancer Saves Lives

Web Chat Provides Opportunity to Ask Your Questions About Colon Cancer

March 12, 2010

It’s colon cancer awareness month and Spectrum Health is helping to spread the word that early detection saves lives.

Colon Cancer Screening Kit

Request a screening kit if you have any of these risk factors:  you are over the age of 50, you have a personal or family history of cancer or you have a history of polyps, ulcerative colitis or Crohn’s disease.

This simple test, administered in the privacy of your home, will help in the early detection of colon and rectal cancer. The earlier cancer is detected, the better your chance for a full recovery.

An estimated 146,970 Americans were diagnosed with colorectal cancer in 2009. Among cancers that affect men and women, it is the second leading cause of cancer-related deaths in the United States.

Spectrum Health is a not-for-profit health system in West Michigan that offers a full continuum of care through the Spectrum Health Hospital Group, a collection of seven hospitals and more than 140 service sites; the Spectrum Health Medical Group, mmpc® and West Michigan Heart-physician groups totaling more than 400 providers; and Priority Health, a health plan with nearly 580,000 members. Spectrum Health’s 16,000 employees, 1,500 medical staff members and 2,200 volunteers are committed to delivering the highest quality care. The organization provided $79.4 million in community benefit during its 2009 fiscal year. As a system, Spectrum Health has earned more than 100 awards since it was formed in 1997.