Logan County Department of Public Health to offer Fecal Immunochemcial Testing (FIT)

[January 04, 2018] Colorectal cancer (CRC) is the third most prevalent type of cancer and second leading cause of cancer death in the United States. A person’s lifetime risk of developing CRC is 1 in 20. Although CRC is one of the deadliest forms of cancer, it can be cured if caught early or prevented all together.

A colonoscopy can detect colorectal cancer early when it is most likely to be curable or prevented. During the process, some polyps or growths can be found and removed before potentially becoming cancerous. Unfortunately, for various reasons, a high percentage of at-risk people are resistant to the idea of having a colonoscopy.

As an option for individuals ages 50-75 who are resistant to having a colonoscopy, the Logan County Department of Public Health (LCDPH) is now offering fecal immunochemical test (FIT) screenings that test for hidden blood in the stool which can be an early sign of colon cancer. This test is a quick and easy take home stool sample kit which is very sensitive to detecting any blood found in the stool. Hidden blood in stool is associated with gastrointestinal disease including colon cancer. Any type of rectal bleeding is abnormal and should be evaluated by your physician.

Although a colonoscopy is the best option available to detect colon cancer at an early stage, a FIT test remains a sensible alternative. The LCDPH can bill these tests to private insurance, Medicaid and Medicare and there will be no cost to the patient if they return the kit to the department along with a sample.

For more information, please contact Kara Davis with the Logan County Department of Public Health at 217-735-2317. The current department hours of operation are Monday-Thursday 7:30-4:30 and Friday 7:30-12:00 pm. For more information regarding LCDPH services, you can log onto their website at WWW.LCDPH. ORG. 

[Don Cavi, MS, LEHP
Public Health Administrator
Logan County Department of Public Health]