In Support of Colorectal Cancer Screening

At a recent diabetes/cardiovascular disease-screening event, one of the volunteer physicians offered to provide some pro bono colonoscopies to our clients. This is an extremely generous offer. It’s also a timely nudge for us to consider a more proactive role in encouraging Asian American and Pacific Islander individuals to seek age-appropriate colorectal cancer screening.

In reviewing data from our 2008 and 2009 telephone surveys, an average of 50% of Chinese, Vietnamese and Korean individuals in Maricopa County over the age of 50 years had ever received either a colonoscopy or flexible sigmoidoscopy. This is far less than the average of 64% among all Arizonans (Arizona Department of Health Services, 2008). In partnership with AAPI communities and our stakeholders, we will be working to increase this rate. Stay tuned.

Doug Hirano, MPH, APCA Executive Director