Healthcare Providers Direct, Inc., a leader in the development and distribution of rapid diagnostic tests, today introduced Colon Health Check, a self-administered diagnostic test that allows for quick, private and highly accurate screening for colon cancer at home. Colon Health Check detects the presence of blood in stool - a major symptom of colorectal cancer and other gastrointestinal (GI) disorders - and provides a negative or positive result to the test user within five minutes.
Colorectal cancer is the second leading cause of cancer death in the United States, according to Brett Bernstein, M.D., Director of Endoscopy, Division of Digestive Diseases, Beth Israel Medical Center in New York. Early screening and detection could save more than half of the approximately 55,000 people who die from colon cancer yearly. Colorectal cancer patients who are diagnosed in the disease's earliest stages have a 90% chance of 5-year survival.
Although standard medical guidelines suggest that patients over 50 years of age have a colonoscopy to screen for colorectal cancer, the Centers for Disease Control & Prevention estimates that more than 41 million people age 50 and older have not scheduled a colonoscopy, and therefore, have not been screened once in their lifetime. Dr. Bernstein further emphasizes that early detection is critically important to patients with colorectal cancer, and is known to significantly increase the chances of the patient's survival. Unfortunately, 10% of patients diagnosed with colorectal cancer are under the age of 50, and therefore, not within the nationally-recommended age group for routine colonoscopy screenings.
"The devastating truth for colon cancer patients under 50 is that often, these cases are more advanced, progress more quickly and have a higher risk of ending in death," said Dr. Bernstein. "Therefore, at-home screenings and early, open communication with your healthcare provider regarding concerns about colon health offer the opportunity to prevent many additional cancers."
Colon Health Check, an immunochemical-based fecal-occult blood test (FOBT), has been subjected to rigorous testing and has been cleared by the Food & Drug Administration (FDA). "Colon Health Check uses an Immunoassay testing method that specifically detects human hemoglobin present in occult blood. As a result, if used properly, this test is virtually as accurate and comparable to the type of tests administered in a physician's office or medical laboratory," said Bernstein.
"Colon Health Check is a simple, quick and effective screening test that patients can self-administer in the privacy of their own bathroom -- and an excellent way to take control of one's health," said Norman Proulx, President and Chief Executive Officer, Healthcare Providers Direct. "Early detection is critically important to patients with colorectal cancer, and is known to significantly increase the chances of the patient's survival."
The Colon Health Check kit is available for $34.95 at www.colonhealthcheck.com or by calling 1-800-216-8100. Customers receive their Colon Health Check kit in the mail within 14 days of placing their order. The Colon Health Check kit provides step-by-step instructions on administering the test using a stool sample collected in the patient's home bathroom. A positive test result indicates that blood is present in the stool and the person should contact their doctor immediately. The Colon Health Check kit is more than 98% accurate.
Copyright 2008, Preventive Medicine Week via NewsRx.com
