Clinical Programs

Free Colorectal Screening Kits

Beginning March 1 to launch Colorectal Cancer Awareness Month, Northwestern Lake Forest Hospital is providing free colorectal screening kits for the community. Occult blood screening kits will be available through the end of the year and can be picked up in the gastrointestinal (GI) lab at the hospital.

Among cancers that affect women and men, colorectal cancer is the second leading cause of cancer death in the US, according to the Centers for Disease Control. More than 140,000 Americans are diagnosed with colorectal cancer each year and more than 50,000 die from it. More than 90 percent of colorectal cancer cases occur in people 50 years or older.

For those 50 years or older, taking a screening test for colorectal cancer could save their lives. Colorectal screening tests can find precancerous polyps so they can be removed before they turn into cancer. Screening can also detect the cancer early when treatment often leads to a cure.

To pick up your kit, go to the Visitor's Entrance of Northwestern Lake Forest Hospital and ask for directions to the GI Lab. Details on how to use the ColoCARE kit are available here.

For more information about colorectal cancer or for questions about the screening kits, please call 847.535.6186.