Published on March 25, 2011
Updated on November 21, 2017
I have been involved with preventive care and treatment for colorectal cancer since 2006, and I am proud to continue to fight for this worthy cause.
I have always been a supporter of preventive care as a way to reduce health care costs over the long term and colorectal cancer screening is a great example of the benefits of prevention and early detection. Investing in screenings and early detection measures would save thousands of lives because this is largely a preventable cancer if people have access to early screening. Early detection also makes more economic sense because it is much less expensive to remove a pre-cancerous polyp than to pay for costly cancer treatments.
Advocacy groups such as Prevent Cancer Foundation and Fight Colorectal Cancer do the best job of getting the importance of this message across. This disease touches so many lives and these groups do great work bringing people together who have been impacted by colorectal cancer in order to educate others about this type of cancer.
Last Congress I pitched in by bringing a resolution to the floor of the House to bring attention to March being National Colorectal Awareness Month for the tenth year. In 2006 I first introduced the Colorectal Cancer Prevention, Early Detection, and Treatment Act, which would increase access to colorectal cancer screening. This legislation is based on the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention’s Colorectal Cancer Screening Demonstration Program, and would authorize grant funding for a national colorectal cancer screening and treatment program. These grants would be targeted to screening and treatment for low-income, uninsured and underinsured individuals who would not otherwise have access to this type of care for colorectal cancer. But with the strong advocates ascending on Capitol Hill, last Congress I had 90 Members show their support by cosponsoring my legislation in the House.
It is imperative to continue the fight for this worthy cause that is very close to me, raising awareness to my colleagues in Congress provides a platform to bring this to the nation’s attention. Every 9 minutes someone dies from colorectal cancer, and many of these deaths occur needlessly, that’s why I continue to fight for this cause.
Editor’s Note: Guest blogger Kay Granger is a representative of the 12th district and co-sponsor of HR 912, the Colorectal Cancer Prevention, Early Detection and Treatment Act.
