Free colorectal at-home cancer screening kits will be distributed at two drive-thru events in September at Jacksonville Memorial Hospital, thanks to a partnership with the Mia Ware Foundation.
The kits will be distributed from 4 to 6 p.m. Thursday, Sept. 14, and from 9 to 11 a.m. Friday, Sept. 15, in the circle drive at the nonprofit hospital’s main entrance at 1600 W. Walnut St.
Participants stay in their vehicles, answer a few brief questions and receive their kits to take home. The kit contains instructions and supplies for participants to collect a stool sample, which is used to test for blood in the stool. Participants return their completed kits via a postage-paid envelope, with test results sent by mail in three to four weeks.
Kits will be available while supplies last.
Colon cancer is the second leading cause of cancer deaths in the U.S. If detected early, 90 percent of those deaths are preventable. People who are at average risk for colorectal cancer should start regular screenings at age 45 and continue through age 75, according to the American Cancer Society.