Salem, Mass. (March 19, 2009) – As part of colorectal cancer awareness month, North Shore Medical Center (NSMC) is participating in the Massachusetts Free Colonoscopy Day on March 20, 2009. NSMC is donating four free colonoscopy exams to selected low-income uninsured patients who would otherwise not be able to afford a colonoscopy. Colonoscopy is the most common screening test for colon cancer and other diseases of the bowel.

“Colorectal cancer remains the third leading cause of cancer death in the U.S.," said Marc Rubin, M.D., Chief of Surgery at NSMC and a colorectal cancer specialist. “Colon cancer death is largely preventable through screening, which can detect disease in an early, curable stage. Screening with colonoscopy can also prevent cancers by removing precancerous polyps. We need to make more people aware of how important this easy exam is so we can catch disease before it becomes life-threatening.”

NSMC colorectal specialists Marc Rubin, M.D., and Irv Ingraham, M.D., are volunteering their services and NSMC is donating the endoscopy suite and staff charges for this event, which is promoted by the Massachusetts Department of Public Health, the American Gastroenterological Association and the American Cancer Society. Nine medical centers in and around Boston are participating to provide free colonoscopies to low income uninsured adults age 50 and over identified by the Department of Public Health Women’s Health Network and Men’s Health Partnership.

About Colorectal Cancer

Colorectal cancer screening is a public health issue – approximately 50 percent of people of screening age are screened. Colorectal cancer is the third most commonly diagnosed cancer and the third leading cause of cancer death in both men and women in the U.S. In 2008 more than 148,000 people were diagnosed with colorectal cancer in the U.S. and nearly 50,000 people died of the disease. Colorectal cancer incidence and mortality rates are highest in African American men and women with incidence rates that are more than 20 percent higher and mortality rates about 45 percent higher than those in whites. Among Hispanic men and women, colorectal cancer incidence and mortality rates are 20 percent to 30 percent lower than those among non-Hispanic whites. However, the rates among Hispanics in the U.S. are higher than in Spanish speaking countries in South and Central America.

Due to the worsening economy, many people are losing health insurance or are faced with higher premiums and are forgoing preventive screening, including for colorectal cancer. Additionally, barriers to screening still exist among racial and ethnic lines, with African Americans and Hispanics being more likely to lack health insurance, thus less likely to be screened. These individuals have a higher death rate due to more advanced disease at diagnosis.