DuPage Medical Group Joins Nationwide ‘80% by 2018’ Colorectal Cancer Screening Effort

DOWN­ERS GROVE, Ill. — As a part of its Inte­grat­ed Oncol­o­gy Pro­gram, DuPage Med­ical Group has tak­en the ​“80% by 2018” pledge. This ini­tia­tive aims to estab­lish reg­u­lar col­orec­tal can­cer screen­ing for at least 80 per­cent of Amer­i­cans ages 50 and older. 

More than 1,000 U.S. orga­ni­za­tions are involved in the effort, which seeks to sub­stan­tial­ly reduce col­orec­tal can­cer as a major pub­lic health prob­lem for Amer­i­cans. The Amer­i­can Can­cer Soci­ety, the Cen­ters for Dis­ease Con­trol and Pre­ven­tion, and the Nation­al Col­orec­tal Can­cer Round­table lead the cam­paign. DuPage Med­ical Group’s Inte­grat­ed Oncol­o­gy Pro­gram is com­mit­ted to offer­ing access to screen­ings to the com­mu­ni­ty and has cho­sen col­orec­tal can­cer as a focused ini­tia­tive for the next two years. 

Through this ini­tia­tive to increase screen­ings, DMG is expand­ing out­reach to patients who are due for an ini­tial screen­ing colonoscopy with the goal of eas­ing anx­i­ety and reduc­ing pro­cras­ti­na­tion in sched­ul­ing. Fur­ther­more, qual­i­fied patients have the oppor­tu­ni­ty to uti­lize ​“Open Access” pre-colonoscopy con­sults with nurs­es via phone. Evolv­ing the colonoscopy process allows cri­te­ria-meet­ing patients to save time and bypass an out­pa­tient vis­it with a spe­cial­ist. DMG also has efforts aimed at health­care providers includ­ing offer­ing con­tin­u­ing edu­ca­tion to RNs and physi­cians through med­ical edu­ca­tion seminars. 

In addi­tion, start­ing in March to coin­cide with Nation­al Col­orec­tal Can­cer Aware­ness Month, reminders will be sent to patients due for their screen­ing colonoscopy elec­tron­i­cal­ly through MyChart (patient por­tal). DMG also recent­ly opened two in-office endoscopy cen­ters in Oak Brook and War­renville to increase access to care. ​“DMG agrees with the med­ical com­mu­ni­ty regard­ing col­orec­tal can­cer as a major pub­lic health issue. Screen­ings can save lives, but only if peo­ple get test­ed,” says DMG gas­troen­terol­o­gist Alan Wang. ​“We’re proud to be a part of the 80% by 2018 cam­paign, because we real­ize our par­tic­i­pa­tion helps serve our patients even better.” 

Accord­ing to the Amer­i­can Can­cer Soci­ety, more than 135,000 adults are diag­nosed each year with col­orec­tal can­cer, which is the coun­try’s sec­ond lead­ing cause of can­cer deaths for men and women com­bined. Treat­ment is most effec­tive when the dis­ease is detect­ed in its ear­ly stages. In some cas­es, it can be pre­vent­ed through the detec­tion and removal of pre­can­cer­ous polyps. Yet it is esti­mat­ed that one in three adults between 50 and 75 years old — about 23 mil­lion Amer­i­cans — do not fol­low rec­om­mend­ed screen­ing guidelines. 

To learn more about DMG’s Inte­grat­ed Oncol­o­gy Pro­gram, gas­troen­terol­o­gy ser­vices, or to sched­ule a screen­ing, vis­it www​.DuPageMed​ical​Group​.com

About DuPage Med­ical Group

With more than 600 physi­cians and in more than 75 loca­tions, DuPage Med­ical Group is the largest inde­pen­dent, mul­ti-spe­cial­ty physi­cian group in the Chica­go area, pro­vid­ing physi­cian-direct­ed health care focused on qual­i­ty, effi­cien­cy and access. For more infor­ma­tion, vis­it www​.duly​healthand​care​.com.