Over 100,000 Fecal Immunochemical Test kits have been mailed to help improve colorectal cancer screenings among veterans enrolled in the VA.
March is Colorectal Cancer Awareness Month and the Department of Veterans Affairs is urging veterans to get screened. While more than 68.4% of veterans enrolled in VA health care are up to date with their colorectal screening, nearly 1 million veterans remain unscreened.
“Our efforts are to make sure all of these veterans get screened,” said Dr. Anita Patil, Oakland VA Deputy Director of National Colorectal Cancer Screening Program, who emphasized that colorectal cancer is the third most commonly diagnosed cancer and is the second leading cause of cancer death in the United States with over 50,000 dying each year.
Who should be screened?
• Veterans aged 45-75.
• If you have a family history of colorectal cancer, talk to your VA provider because screening may start earlier.
• If you have symptoms (blood in stool, stomach pain, unexplained weight loss) see your doctor right away.
• Veterans worried about individual risks like environmental exposure should talk to their VA provider.
The VA provides two options for screening – colonoscopy and Fecal Immunochemical Test (FIT). FIT brings the cancer screening to the comfort of veterans homes to help improve screening rates among veterans.
“By mailing FIT kits directly to the veterans home, this program removes the common barriers to screenings such as scheduling issues, travel constrains, and it allows the veterans to complete a simple, highly effective tier one screening test in the comfort of their own homes and return it by mail,” Patil said. “The program reflects VA’s commitment to accessible, veteran-centered care, ensuring more veterans get screened and live saved through early detection.”
VA has already delivered this homebased test to more than 100,000 veterans and counting. Talk to your VA provider about FIT if you’re 45 years or older, or at high risk of colorectal cancer. And learn more about FIT here.
- Veterans Healthcare