The AAFP has encouraged medical practitioners to discuss colorectal cancer screenings with their patients.
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Jamie Barrand | Mar 21, 2016

AAFP urges practitioners to talk to patients about colorectal cancer screenings

The second leading cause of cancer deaths in the United States is colorectal cancer, and statistics show that nearly one third of the nation's adults between 50 and 75 do not get the colorectal cancer screening that is recommended.

In an effort to boost the number of colorectal cancer screenings done in the U.S., the American Academy of Family Physicians (AAFP) teamed up with representatives from the National Colorectal Cancer Roundtable. The goal is to get the number of patients screened for the disease each year to at least 80 percent by 2018.

This, studies show, would prevent 280,000 cases of colorectal cancer from occurring and save the lives of 200,000 people diagnosed with the disease over a two-decade period.

To achieve this goal, the AAFP has urged family physicians to screen patients or refer them to other facilities for screening. Additionally, the AAFP encourages doctors to educate themselves on the colorectal cancer screening process, so they can be ready to share that information with their patients.

More information is available from the U.S. Preventive Services Task Force, which released updated colorectal cancer screening recommendations this past October. The recommendations are currently in the draft stage; final recommendations are expected in the near future.

Also joining the charge to increase colorectal cancer awareness is the Patient-Centered Outcomes Research Institute (PCORI), a nonprofit agency that has financially supported a variety of colorectal cancer screening and treatment initiatives.

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