Cancer screening kits offered at LMH

Lincoln Courier
·2 min read

Colon cancer is the second leading cause of cancer deaths in the U.S. If detected early, 90 percent of those deaths are preventable.

Lincoln Memorial Hospital, 200 Stahlhut Dr., is helping the public avoid a colon cancer diagnosis by offering free colorectal at-home screening kits that will be provided during a drive thru event from 9 a.m. until noon Friday, Aug. 5 in Lincoln.

Free colorectal at-home screening kits will be provided during a drive thru event from 9 a.m. until noon Friday, Aug. 5 in Lincoln.
Free colorectal at-home screening kits will be provided during a drive thru event from 9 a.m. until noon Friday, Aug. 5 in Lincoln.

Kits will be offered while supplies last. Those who are not able to attend the drive-thru may request a kit be mailed to them by calling (217) 605-5008.

For those attending the drive thru are asked to stay in their cars and answer a few questions before getting the kit. Inside the kit participants will find instruction and supplies to collect a stool sample. The sample will be used to test for blood in the stool. Once the sample is complete participants are asked to mail the sample in a postage-paid envelope, with test results sent by mail in three to four weeks.

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Angela Stoltzenburg, director of the Community Health Collaborative at LMH, said cancer can be scary but by early detection can help people survive.

"Finding colon cancer at an early stage dramatically increases overall survival,” said Stoltzenburg.

“If polyps are found early and removed, cancers can be prevented.”

Colorectal cancer screening kit distribution events will also be held at Memorial Health hospitals and facilities in Springfield, Jacksonville, Taylorville and Decatur throughout August.

The times and dates at each location are:

  • Decatur Memorial Hospital: 3:30 to 5 p.m. Thursday, Aug. 11, at the DMH Cancer Care Center, 210 W. McKinley Ave., 217-876-4749.

  • Jacksonville Memorial Hospital: 4 to 6 p.m. Thursday, Aug. 4, and 9 to 11 a.m. Friday, Aug. 5, 1600 W. Walnut St.

  • Springfield locations: 5 to 7 p.m. Thursday, Aug. 18, at the Memorial Drive-Thru Lab, 320 E. Carpenter St. and from 5-7 p.m. Thursday, Aug. 25, at the Simmons Cancer Institute, 315 W. Carpenter St.

  • Taylorville Memorial Hospital: 9 a.m. to noon Friday, Aug. 12, drive up to the hospital’s main entrance, 201 E. Pleasant St., 217-707-5258.

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According to the American Cancer Society people who are at average risk for colorectal cancer should start regular screenings at age 45 and continue through the age of 75.

This article originally appeared on Lincoln Courier: colon cancer at-home screening kits offered at LMH