March is National Colorectal Cancer Awareness Month

In conjunction with National Colorectal Cancer Awareness Month¹, Anthem Blue Cross and Blue Shield (Anthem) would like to remind healthcare professionals to raise awareness among their patients about the importance of colorectal cancer screenings.

Encourage your patients to make time for regular colorectal cancer screenings. It’s one of the most valuable ways they can protect their health. Colorectal cancer is the third most common type of cancer among adults². The good news for patients is the survival rate for colorectal cancer is about 90%³. Through screenings, colorectal cancer can be caught early, when it is more treatable. Regular screenings are ideal for early detection.  

The American Cancer Society⁴ recommends that most adults have regular colorectal cancer screenings from age 45 to age 75. Talking to your patients about when and how often they should be tested and what kind of screening is right for them is important to their good health.

You and your Anthem patients have access to high-quality, low-cost colorectal cancer screening fecal immunochemical test (FIT) kits by Labcorp.* If you have specific questions, contact the lab directly:

• Labcorp: FIT test, 888-LABCORP (888-522-2677) or labcorp.com/cancer/colorectal/providers

To find Labcorp or other participating labs in your patient’s plan network, select Find Care from the Provider Resources menu at https://www.anthem.com.

¹ Colorectal Cancer Awareness Month | Colorectal Cancer Alliance

² Key Statistics for Colorectal Cancer https://www.cancer.org/cancer/colon-rectal-cancer/about/key-statistics.html  

³ Survival Rates for Colorectal Cancer  https://www.cancer.org/cancer/colon-rectal-cancer/detection-diagnosis-staging/survival-rates.html

⁴ Colorectal Cancer Guideline | How Often to Have Screening Tests