Healthcare providers, including Santa Barbara Neighborhood Clinics, are encouraging community members to be screened during Colorectal Cancer Awareness Month.
Colon cancer is responsible for more than 50,000 deaths in the U.S. each year. However, according to Dr. Ali Javanbakht, Chief Medical Officer of the Santa Barbara Neighborhood Clinics, many are preventable through early detection.
"It is critical. It is the most important thing anyone can do with regard to colorectal cancer," he said.
The gold standard for detecting colorectal cancer is having a colonoscopy, said Javanbakht.
"It catches it when the disease is really early, usually just a polyp," he said. "It's removed pretty simply, and it's monitored more closely. That really keeps people from getting the disease and getting ill from it or even dying from it."
You can schedule a consultation with the Neighborhood Clinic if you’re overdue for a colonoscopy. The clinics accept most new patients regardless of their insurance status.
More information is at www.sbclinics.org.
