The healthcare group, together with the AECC, aims to promote the prevention of this type of cancer, which in 90% of cases can be cured if diagnosed in time
Canary Islands, March 2018:- On the occasion of World Colon Cancer Day, and for the fourth year, the Hospiten Group launches a series of open days to inform the public about how to prevent colon cancer, and free occult blood in stool tests. This year the Spanish Association Against Cancer (AECC) is also collaborating in the activity.
According to specialists, about 90 percent of cases of colon and rectum cancer could be cured if they were detected early, before the disease reaches its more advanced stages.
The early diagnosis test can be done on April 5 and 6, and is open to all people over 50 years of age, or 40 if they have a family history of colon cancer, who make an appointment before April 4, by telephone or at the main reception of each of the group's hospitals in the Canary Islands (Hospiten Bellevue, Hospiten Sur, Hospiten Rambla, Hospiten Lanzarote and Hospiten Roca). Those who decide to take the test should take three stool samples for analysis.
The campaign is backed by the AECC since this type of cancer is the third most common among men and the second most common among women. As a general rule, there are usually no symptoms until the cancer is at an advanced stage - the most common signs being changes in bowel habit, blood in the stool, unexplained weight loss, anemia and abdominal pain.
In this context, Hospiten recommends everyone over 50 years see their doctor to undergo one of the two simple tests to detect the disease early - the colonoscopy and the occult blood in stool test, depending on the age and medical history of each patient. In the event that the result of the occult blood test be positive, a conventional colonoscopy should be performed.
The Hospiten Group is an international healthcare network committed to providing a service of the highest quality, with almost 50 years of experience, which has twenty private medical-hospital centers in Spain, the Dominican Republic, Mexico, Jamaica and Panama, and more than one hundred ambulatory, own and associated medical centers under the Clinic Assist brand. The group is chaired by Dr. Pedro Luis Cobiella and attends more than 1,700,000 patients from around the world every year, and has a staff of more than 5,000 people.