Cancer has a way of changing how a family sees time. I have watched people around me struggle with cancer and know how quickly life can become centered around the hope for more time together.

It is one reason I believe we should do everything we can to help people catch cancer early, especially cancers that are far more treatable when found before they spread.

Colorectal cancer (CRC) is a perfect example. And unfortunately, the American Cancer Society estimates that 2,240 Pennsylvanians will die from CRC this year.

The problem is that, for too many people, screening has historically been inconvenient and uncomfortable. That is why access matters. More screening options can mean more people get screened.

Options like the Shield test, by Guardant Health, the first and only blood test FDA-approved as a primary screening option for CRC for adults at average risk, are making screening quicker and easier to complete. And it was recently recommended as a screening option by the American Cancer Society in their updated guidelines.

I have seen what cancer can do to someone you love. If more screening options can spare even one Pennsylvania family from that pain, they are worth making known.

BRYANT GLICK

New Holland

Submitted by Virtual Newsroom