WICHITA, Kansas – March is Colon Cancer Awareness Month and to raise awareness of the “silent killer”, hundreds of screening kits are available for free to south-central Kansas. The non-invasive tests can save lives.
You wouldn’t know it by looking at her, but Erica Nance is a colon cancer survivor. Her grandmother died from and Erica was diagnosed in May 2008 when she was just 44 years old.
“I'd been having a pretty bad headache for a while and I was tired,” Erica said. “I guess they call this the “silent cancer”, cause you don't always have symptoms that appear until later on.”
It was then that her doctor recommended she take a fecal occult blood test. It’s one of several tests used to detect potential symptoms of colon cancer.
“They're painless, non-invasive and they can be done in the privacy of their own home,” said Dana Kemp with the American Cancer Society.
As part of Colon Cancer Awareness Month, the American Cancer Society and other partners are giving out 2,500 screening kits for free.
Within weeks of sending in the samples, the test results come in. If negative, there will likely be no more tests done for another 10 years. If positive, however, a colonoscopy will likely be done, which is what happened to Erica.
“Three weeks later I had my surgery and had I not, it could've developed into stage 3 or 4 colon cancer and taken my life,” she said.
Erica’s experience is just one of many proving early detection is key to surviving the disease.
“I feel great,” Erica said.
The tests are available to those 50 and older or people who have a family history of colon cancer.
The free screening kits can be picked up at the following locations in Wichita:
Walgreen’s at 3333 East Central (Central and Hillside)
Walgreen’s at 333 West 13th (13th and Waco)
Walgreen’s at 710 North West Street (Central and West)
Walgreen’s at 1555 South Broadway (Harry and Broadway)
Walgreen’s at 5505 East Harry (Harry and Edgemoor)
Colvin Neighborhood City Hall at 2820 South Roosevelt (near Pawnee and George Washington)
For more information, call 316-616-6500.
