Baptist Memorial Hospital – Golden Triangle partners with local doctors to offer free colon cancer consultations

COLUMBUS, Miss. (WCBI) – As part of Colon Cancer Awareness Month, Baptist Memorial Hospital – Golden Triangle is partnering with other local doctors to offer free consultations.

Baptist Memorial colorectal surgeon Dr. Hernan Sanchez says he has screened patients who seemed to be in perfect health, only to find the early stages of colon cancer.

“Cancer, in general, is silent,” he said. “It will not tell you, ‘I’m here.’ It will not give you pain. ”

Baptist has joined forces with Vascular Surgery and Gastroenterology Associates of Columbus to make specialists like Dr. Sanchez available to offer free colon cancer consultations from 8 A.M. to 12 P.M. on the last two Saturdays of March.

“Most of these patients are asymptomatic,” says Dr. Sanchez. “So if it weren’t for the colonoscopy or the screening procedure that was performed, they would have never known until it was very late.”

Colon cancer is the second leading cause of death in the United States, per the National Institutes of Health. However, the Mississippi State Department of Health says 60 percent of deaths could be avoided with regular screenings.

Dr. Sanchez says there is a 95 percent survival rate for patients who are treated during stage one of colon cancer. But many people have had to delay those procedures because of COIVD-19.

“Which, in the end, ended up delaying surgeries as well,” said Dr. Sanchez. “So there were a lot of patients who were due for their colonoscopy and they did not get it.”

By the time colon cancer reaches stage four, Dr. Sanchez says the survival rate plummets to 14 percent, though it would take over 10 years for things to reach that stage.

“It’s a process that takes several years,” he said. “That’s why there is time for us to prevent further complications from cancer.”

The free consultations will be at the Baptist Outpatient Pavilion, where doctors can go over all aspects of colon health, like risk factors, treatment options and testing.

“There are different ways and technology has advanced to the point that nowadays, you may not even need to get a colonoscopy,” said Dr. Sanchez.

Those who wish to schedule an appointment should call 662-244-2979. Masks are required to participate.

“It’s very, very important to detect this early,” Dr. Sanchez repeated. “We don’t want to treat cancer when it’s already giving your center that might be too late.”