Colon cancer ranks as the second leading cause of cancer death in the United States. Colon cancer affects both men and women equally and kills more people annually than either breast cancer or prostate cancer.

Luckily, with over a 90 percent cure rate caught early enough, colon cancer is preventable and treatable. Early detection through screening is the key.

NW Wellness offers the EZ detect home test for fecal occult blood detection. This at-home test is different in that instead of sending a card with a fecal smear to a lab and waiting for results, a person can get immediate results in the privacy of their bathroom without having to handle a stool specimen. Because of the elimination of the “handling” issue, people are more likely to get tested.

This test is a non-invasive low-cost screening tool relative to other screening measures. It indicates the presence of blood, a common warning sign that requires medical attention and follow up using more expensive and more invasive measures. Only one screening test, a colonoscopy, can examine the entire colon and positively identify and remove polyps at the same time. Colonoscopy is the preferred follow up screening test to a positive occult blood in the stool.