Loup Basin Public Health Department

Loup Basin Public Health Department would like to promote awareness about colon cancer and encourage people to get their colon checked. Nebraska ranks 6th in the nation for the highest death rate due to colon cancer and 910 Nebraskans will be diagnosed with colon cancer this year. Colon cancer is 90% curable if it’s found early,  60% of deaths from colon cancer could be prevented if men and women 50 years and older were screened regularly. 

If you are 50 years or older, these are things YOU can do to avoid becoming one of these statistics:
•    Have a Fecal Occult Blood Test (FOBT) yearly to detect blood in the stool from polyps.
•    Have a colonoscopy every 10 years to look for polyps.
•    Have polyps removed to prevent cancer from starting or spreading.

Additional steps to prevent colorectal cancer are easily included in any lifestyle:
•    Eat a diet containing fruits, vegetables and fiber.
•    Move your body and get active!
•    If you smoke, find help and quit!

The following hospitals within the Loup Basin Public Health District will be providing Fecal
Occult Blood Tests FREE of charge to residents interested in participating in this
screening during the month of March:

Callaway District Hospital – Callaway, NE
Howard County Community Hospital – St. Paul, NE
Jennie M Melham Memorial Hospital – Broken Bow, NE
Valley County Health Systems Hospital – Ord, NE

For more information call these hospitals or Loup Basin Public Health Department at 346.5795 or 1.866.522.5795.