Today in a press release, BioIQ announced a new initiative to educate veterans and legislators on the importance of easy-to-use tests for colorectal cancer (CRC) screening and the need for those tests to be simple, convenient and private.
The outreach effort includes communicating with key legislators about the risk factors veterans face for CRC; the value provided by simple-to-use, in-home tests that are supported by BioIQ’s automated engagement solutions; and how tests that get done can help save thousands of lives.
The initiative supports the outreach of the Veteran’s Administration (VA), as well as other organizations, in highlighting the importance of such screenings and how the availability of newer in-home tests can help veterans in rural areas or without access to transportation, better access this important screening.
The VA has made it a priority to screen its patients ages 50-75 for CRC. There are three primary screening methods, including colonoscopy, used by the VA. In the past few years, the VA also began encouraging the use of the fecal immunochemical test (FIT), which also detects CRC signs and can be conducted at home.
“CRC is the second leading cause of cancer-related deaths,” said Tracel Wilt, an army veteran who graduated from the U.S. Military Academy at West Point, and is now vice president of Government Relations for BioIQ. “We must better educate the nation’s veteran community about colon cancer, and do all we can to maximize participation in screening programs. BioIQ’s FIT test is completed in the privacy of a home or other setting the veteran prefers. It’s very quick, easy and takes away the fear factor many patients have about time-consuming and invasive colonoscopies.”
To learn more about how BioIQ is reducing the risk of colorectal cancer in all populations, read the press release.