The Georgia Colon Cancer Prevention Project

 

Georgia Colon Cancer Facts

 

• Annually, Georgia has 1,400 colon cancer related deaths and only two-thirds of Georgians are being screened for colon cancer at the appropriate time.
   

• The screening rate is nearly 37% of eligible patients at Georgia’s community health centers that provide health care to the underserved.
   

• In Georgia, if 80% of people aged 50-75 years are screened for colon cancer, 468 lives would be saved each year.

 

UHRU Response

 

We created the Georgia Colon Cancer Prevention Project to reduce health disparities in the state by increasing colorectal cancer screening among underserved Georgians. To do so, we educate and empower health care providers at Georgia’s community health centers to implement a successful colon cancer screening program to save lives.

Our project has successfully intervened and guided critical changes to colorectal cancer screening at nine community health centers covering 38 counties. The first four centers have shown an average increase of 34% in colorectal cancer screening rates.