Letter to the Editor: Colon cancer screenings save lives

I’m a Recorder of Deeds and Wills by profession, which means I know what people look like when they’re doing the paperwork to prepare for the best and worst chapters of their lives.

Through this work, I’ve learned that life happens. We can’t make the good things come faster, and, as someone who has faced both cancer and cardiac disease, I know we also can’t stop the bad things from happening. What we can do is be prepared. And when it comes to our health, preventive screening is key.

Colorectal cancer (CRC), for example, is the second leading cause of cancer deaths in the U.S. In Pennsylvania, 34 percent of diagnosed cases are terminal. That doesn’t have to be the case – when caught early, CRC has one of the highest five-year survival rates of all cancers. Still, people put off getting screened because traditional methods can seem invasive and uncomfortable.

Thankfully, there’s a new way to get screened. The Shield test, the first FDA-approved primary, non-invasive blood-based screening option for average-risk adults 45-plus, can test for CRC with a quick blood draw. Blood tests like this give people an easier screening option and can help save lives.

Josephine Ferro
East Stroudsburg, Pa.