UAB Comprehensive Cancer Center Magazine Spring 2016 | Page 11

clinical update

Leading by Example:
UAB Encourages Colorectal
Cancer Screening

The Power
of Screening:
J-P Dice

By BEENA THANNICK AL and JOSH TILL

“As an academic
medical
institution, we
collectively
realize the
importance of
this initiative.
This is a
responsibility
we have, but
it’s also a real
opportunity to
save lives and be
an example to
our community
and state.”
Edward Par tridge, M.D.
UAB Comprehensive
Cancer Center direc tor

18

U A B

As one of the nation’s leading academic medical
institutions, UAB and the Comprehensive Cancer
Center are partnering with the American Cancer
Society as part of “80 by 2018,” a national initiative
aimed at eliminating colorectal cancer as a major
public health problem by having 80 percent of adults
ages 50 and older regularly screened for colorectal
cancer by 2018.
Colorectal cancer is the nation’s second-leading
cause of cancer-related deaths in men and women
combined. However, through proper colorectal cancer
screening, doctors can find and remove hidden
growths called polyps in the colon before they become
cancerous. Removing polyps can prevent cancer
altogether.
As part of Colorectal Cancer Awareness Month,
UAB formally kicked off its own “80 by 18” effort
in March. UAB leaders President Ray Watts, M.D.,
UAB Health System CEO Will Ferniany, Ph.D., and
Cancer Center director Edward Partridge, M.D., have
joined forces in a university-wide effort to reach 80
percent of eligible UAB employees to get screened by
2018.
“As an academic medical institution, we collectively
realize the importance of this initiative. This is a
responsibility we have, but it’s also a real opportunity
to save lives and be an example to our community
and state,” Dr. Partridge says. “Colorectal cancer is
one cancer that can actually be prevented and where
screening can make the difference between getting
cancer or not.”

C O M P R E H E N S I V E

C A N C E R

C E N T E R

In Alabama, a patient is diagnosed with colorectal
cancer every 3.5 hours and someone dies of the disease
every nine hours. Alabama has an estimated 392,100
people who should be screened. And based on data
from UAB’s insurance carriers, it is estimated that
UAB and UAB Medicine have more than 1,800
employees who should be screened.
“We can do better as a community and change
these numbers. Some of the screening tests may seem
daunting, but there are several acceptable methods that
are simple, safe and widely used,” Dr. Partridge says.
“People aren’t getting tested because they don’t believe
they are at risk or don’t understand their testing
options, or don’t think they can afford it.”
Regular screenings for colorectal cancer are
recommended beginning at age 50 or at age 40 if
there is a family history of the disease. Employees who
are eligible at UAB have been encouraged to educate
themselves with detailed information, to speak to their
physicians about their history and to inquire about the
colorectal screening options that are available.
Common screening tests include a flexible
sigmoidoscopy, colonoscopy, CT colonography or
double-contrast barium enema. Other tests include a
guaiac-based fecal occult blood test (gFOBT), fecal
immunochemical test (FIT) or stool DNA test (sDNA
test). In most of these cases, tests are performed every
five to 10 years or, in a few cases, yearly.
“We want to hammer home that this disease is
highly preventable, detectable and treatable, but we
need to take action,” says Dr. Partridge.

For many residents in the Birmingham
metropolitan area, WBRC Fox-6 chief meteorologist
James-Paul “J-P” Dice is a primary source for
weather news and updates. But Mr. Dice has another
important role in the Birmingham community –
cancer advocate.
Shortly after turning 40 in June 2012, Mr. Dice
experienced a tiny amount of blood after going to
the bathroom. Because he had always been someone
to go to the doctor if something did not seem right,
he thought it would be wise to get checked out. Two
weeks later, a colo