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Colorectal cancer program helps Native patients get screenings

Alaska Natives have substantially higher rates of colorectal cancer compared to other ethnic groups, and a new program at SEARHC will help Native patients get screened.

"Colorectal cancer is the No. 1 incident cancer for Alaska Natives, and it has the second-highest mortality rate, second to lung cancer," said Jeannette Chavez, the patient navigator for the colorectal cancer program. "The survival rate, if diagnosed early, is 90 percent. It's such a preventable cancer. It's one of the few cancers where the precancerous cells can be removed before they even become cancer."

Jeannette started work on the program in March, and her first task has been to identify those Native patients with a higher risk for colorectal cancer---those age 50 or older who never have been screened and those with a family history of colorectal cancer who are past due for a colonoscopy, the main screening test. So far she has found 2,135 Native patients who fall into those two categories, and approximately 1,400 of them are due or overdue for a screening.

Now Jeannette is looking at what barriers might keep patients from getting screened and trying to find ways to break down the barriers. She's sending her patients information written especially for Alaska Natives about the signs and symptoms of colorectal cancer and ways they can reduce their risk. She also works with medical staff at SEARHC clinics so people get screened. For example, outreach in Angoon resulted in referrals for 21 percent of those needing screening.

Alaska Natives have twice the colorectal cancer incidence and mortality rates as non-Natives. A lack of screening is one major reason those rates are so high. In 58 percent of all cancer cases among Alaska Natives, the cancer already has moved past the local stage and spread to other organs. Cancer treatment is more complex once the disease spreads.

"We want to give patients information about the importance of early screening and encourage people to get screened," Jeannette said. "It's a slow-growing cancer. Early detection and treatment are keys to good outcomes."

To learn more about the SEARHC colorectal cancer screening program, call Jeannette at 966-8919.

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