Backus leads colorectal cancer awareness campaign
PrintNORWICH – The William W. Backus Hospital is distributing free colorectal cancer test kits. The kits are easy to use at home, and can help detect colorectal cancer, which kills more than 58,000 people in the United States each year. When this form of cancer is detected early, it can be treated effectively and cured.
The kits are available at the following locations until the end of March:
- Backus Hospital, Information Desk (Main Entrance), 326 Washington St., Norwich
- Backus Medical Office Building, Information Desk, 330 Washington St., Norwich
- Backus Health Center, 163 Broadway, Colchester
- Backus Health Center, 1666 Route 12, Gales Ferry
Kits will also be distributed at the hospital’s Mobile Health Resource Center, which will be at these locations on the following dates:
- March 15 — 9 a.m. to 1 p.m., NAACP Health Fair, Evans AME Zion Church, 2 McKinley Ave., Norwich
- March 20 — 9 a.m. to 2 p.m., Fitch High School, Groton
- March 28 — 9:30 a.m. to 12:30 p.m., Bozrah Senior Center, Bozrah
The distribution is part of “A Test for Life,” a televised health awareness campaign on
NBC-30. On March 20, from 5 to 7 p.m., Backus physicians will take part in Channel 30’s live, televised phone-in, answering callers’ questions about colorectal cancer.
Last year, more than 4,000 test kits were distributed in eastern Connecticut.