Lack of education about cancer can be a major hurdle to preventing the disease, a speaker told a Greenwood audience Saturday.
Dr. Roy Dulé spoke at a seminar on colon cancer sponsored by the Mississippi Network for Cancer Control and Prevention, which is affiliated with the University of Southern Mississippi.
More than 100 people attended the seminar, which was held at Monument of Grace Church.
Dulé is the associate director for cancer education at the Cancer Institute of the University of Mississippi Medical Center in Jackson.
He is also a professor of pharmacology, toxicology and radiation oncology.
He said other states have lowered their colon cancer death rates over the past 20 years with aggressive screening, which enabled detection of the disease in its early stages. During the same time period, he said, Mississippi’s death rate has remained unchanged.
Colonoscopies are effective in identifying non-cancerous polyps, and people shouldn’t be afraid to have them done on a regular basis, he said.
Starting on Wednesday, colonoscopies can be performed without any co-pay under the federal Affordable Care Act, said state Sen. David Jordan, D-Greenwood, who also gave an overview of the federal health care law at the seminar.
Freddie White-Johnson, program director of Mississippi Network, said Saturday’s turnout was encouraging.
“We’ve got more male participation,” she said. “This is really good because males hardly ever participate in anything.”
Saturday’s seminar also attracted nine pastors, and White-Johnson said that will help spread the message.
“A lot of people go to church,” White-Johnson said. “To get the support of the faith-based groups behind you, that helps a lot. It helps us recruit.”
To find out more, call the Mississippi Network for Cancer Control and Prevention at 453-3688.
