From The Trussville Tribune staff reports
BIRMINGHAM – Birmingham gastroenterology group, Southeast Gastro, will be at St. Vincent’s East Campus just outside of Trussville on March 3 to offer free colon screenings to those who are uninsured. The event, dubbed GivingBack, will provide up to 50 screening colonoscopies at the campus.
“We are proud to be a part of the communities we serve. The GivingBack event is a way for us to care for at-risk patients truly in need,” said Dr. Miles Gresham, who is president of Southeast Gastro. “When we first came up with the concept, we knew we couldn’t do it alone.
We could provide the gastroenterologists and the anesthesia, but there were other components we needed. OSE Surgery Center, St. Vincent’s East, Braintree Laboratories, Aurora Diagnostics, Eastern Surgical Associates, Salix Pharmaceuticals, Cornerstone Media and Means Advertising all stepped up to support us. When we approached them, they all basically said, ‘What a great thing to do. How can we help?'”
March will be Colon Cancer Awareness Month. Southeast Gastro Practice Administrator Mark Johnson said that while colon cancer is preventable, many people are unable to be treated because they can’t afford screenings.
“Colon cancer is one of the most preventable and curable cancers when detected early,” he said. “Colonoscopy is the gold standard for colorectal cancer screening, but many uninsured patients simply cannot afford this potentially life-saving test.”
The event will be held at OSE Surgery Center in the St. Vincent’s East Campus.