IN ADDITION TO THE NEW FOOD
HANDLING RULES, THE COMPANY
URGED EMPLOYEES TO STAY HOME
WHEN THEY ARE NOT FEELING WELL.
ONE YEAR AGO, MAYO CLINIC
RESEARCHERS GOT THE GO AHEAD ON
A POTENTIAL GAME CHANGER.
IT IS AN AT-HOME TEST THAT
SCREENS FOR THE SECOND MOST
DEADLY TYPE OF CANCER, COLON
CANCER.
THE FDA APPROVED COLOGUARD, AND
MEDICARE COVERS IT.
IT'S AN ALTERNATIVE TO A
COLONOSCOPY.
RESEARCHERS SAY IT HAS BEEN A
SUCCESSFUL 12 MONTHS, BUT AS
SUSAN LITTLEFIELD FOUND, MOST
DOCTORS ARE NOT PRESCRIBING IT.
IF YOU'RE LUCKY, CANCER OF
THE COLON IS SOMETHING YOU ONLY
CASUALLY HEARD ABOUT.
38-YEAR-OLD SARAH LOST THAT NIGH
YEFTY FOUR YEARS AGO.
IT'S DISRUPTED MY WHOLE LIFE,
THE LIFE OF MY FAMILY, MY KIDS,
MY CAREER, MY -- MY WEEKENDS.
SHE DIDN'T EVEN KNOW WHAT THE
WORD MALIGNANT MEANT WHEN HER
DOCTOR DESCRIBED HER TUMOR.
SHE WAS A NURSING MOM, AN AVID
RUNNER.
DIDN'T THAT EXPLAIN HER
EXHAUSTION AND WEIGHT LOSS?
INITIALLY I WROTE IT OFF AS
BEING POST PARTUM.
I LOST THE BABY WEIGHT, BUT IT
KEPT GOING, AND I STARTED TO HIT
NUMBERS I HADN'T SEEN SINCE
MIDDLE SCHOOL.
IT WASN'T UNTIL SHE WAS USING
THE RESTROOM 10 TO 20 TIMES A
DAY AND PASSING BLOOD THAT SHE
GOT A COLON OS COPI.
HER DOCTOR GAVE HER THE NEWS.
HE SAID WE COULDN'T COMPLETE
THE COLONOSCOPY BECAUSE IT'S A
BLOCKAGE.
COLON CANCER.
I'M FOUR YEARS INTO ACTUALLY
DOING CHEMO ON A BIMONTHLY
BASIS, AND IT'S WORKING.
IT'S KEEPING ME ALIVE.
SHE WORKS THE THE COLON
CANCER COALITION.
IN BETWEEN TREATMENTS, THE
COALITION, SHE SAYS, IS
CELEBRATING THE NEWEST SCREENING
TOOL.
COLOGUARD WENT ON THE MARKET
LAST YEAR.
IT'S A TAKE-HOME TEST WHERE
PATIENTS TAKE A STOOL SAMPLE AND
MAIL IT INTO A LAB.
TO BE ABLE TO HAVE A TEST
THAT CAN BE DONE NOT ONLY IN THE
PRIVACY OF YOUR HOME BUT QUICKLY
AND EFFICIENTLY AND NOT TAKE ANY
TIME OUT OF YOUR NORMAL ROUTINE
BECAUSE YOU ARE GOING TO GO TO
THE BATHROOM ANYWAY IS JUST
AMAZING AND EXCITING.
FOR PEOPLE LIKE ME TO SEE.
THE TEST WAS BORN IN SOUTHERN
MINNESOTA.
IT TOOK 20 YEARS OF RESEARCH IN
THIS MAYO CLINIC LAB TO MAKE
THIS TEST A REALITY.
A DREAM COME TRUE IN MANY
WAYS.
COLOGUARD TESTS TNA FROM THE
BOWEL FOR CANCER OR PRECANCEROUS
POLYPS.
ONLY ABOUT HALF -- HALF OF
THE POPULATION BASED ON RECORD
REVIEWS ARE UNDERGOING
SCREENING.
I'M HERE FOR AN IMPORTANT
REASON.
COLON CANCER SCREENING.
HE SAYS COLOGUARD IS QUICK
AND PRIVATE AND AVAILABLE TO
PEOPLE IN REMOTE AREAS WHERE
THERE'S LITTLE ACCESS TO
DOCTORS.
HE SAYS IT'S CATCHING ON.
IT'S BEEN PRESCRIBED 100,000
TIMES.
PUT INTO PERSPECTIVE, A
HUNDRED THOUSAND TESTS WOULD
HAVE DETECTED 500 NEW CANCERS.
HE CITES SUCCESS STORIES LIKE
CHUCK, THE APPLE VALLEY MAN'S
FAMILY PHYSICIAN RECOMMENDED IT.
IT HAD BEEN SEVEN YEARS SINCE
HIS LAST COLONOSCOPY.
IT CAME BACK POSITIVE.
SURGERY REVEALED A LESION AND
POLYPS THAT WERE PRECANCEROUS.
I GET E-MAILS AND CALLS
MULTIPLE TIMES A WEEK FROM
PATIENTS AND PHYSICIANS TELLING
ME ABOUT THEIR CANCER DIAGNOSED
OR THEIR LARGE POLYPS WERE
DETECTED.
BACK IN THE TWIN CITIES,
PRAISE IS NOT UNIVERSAL.
WE HEARD FROM GASTROENTEROLOGIST
WHO WERE NOT PRESCRIBING THE
TESTS.
NEITHER ARE THE DOCTORS AT THE
STATE'S BIGGEST PRACTICE.
ABOUT ONE OUT OF FIVE PEOPLE
ARE GOING TO GET THE WRONG
ANSWER WHEN THEY DO THAT TEST.
DR. DONALD IS TALKING ABOUT
THE FALSE POSITIVE AND NEGATIVE
RATE OF THE TEST.
HE SAYS THAT DETERS HIM.
ALSO, MOST INSURANCE COMPANIES
DON'T YET COVER IT.
ABOUT $600 FOR THE TEST, AND
YOU HAVEN'T ACTUALLY REMOVED A
SINGLE POLYP.
HIS TEAM STILL RECOMMENDS A
COLONOSCOPY BECAUSE OF SOMETHING
HE SPOTTED IN THAT PROCEDURE,
DOCTORS CAN REMOVE IT RIGHT
AWAY.
THERE'S A LOT OF
MISINFORMATION OUT THERE.
THIS IS A DISRUPTIVE NEW
TECHNOLOGY, AND THERE AES
ALWAYS -- THERE'S ALWAYS
PUSHBACK FROM THOSE THAT ARE
DOING THE OLDER CONVENTIONAL
APPROACHES.
BACK IN ROCHESTER, DR. SAYS
INSURANCE COMPANIES ARE SLOW TO
COVER NEW TESTS.
HE FEELS CONFIDENT, WISE UP.
IS EQUIVALENT TO COLONOSCOPY
IN TERMS OF DETECTING
EARLY-STAGE CANCER.
A STATEMENT HE SAYS HE'S SURE
OF.
THE STATEMENT SARAH SUPPORTS,
TOO.
WE JUST WANT PEOPLE TO GET
SCREENED IN GENERAL.
THE BEST TEST IS THE ONE THAT
GETS DONE.
71 ROUNDS INTO CHEMO, SHE'S A
VETERAN IN A FIGHT SHE WANTS NO
ONE ELSE TO SHARE.
YOU COULD PREVENT EVERYTHING
I'M GOING THROUGH BY TAKING ONE
DAY OUT OF YOUR LIFE TO TAKE A
TAKE-HOME TEST OR GO GET A
COLONOSCOPY.
THAT'S THE THING ABOUT COLON
CANCER, EVEN THOUGH IT IS SO
DEADLY, IF IT IS CAUGHT IN STAGE
1 OR STAGE 2, IT IS TREATABLE.
THAT IS WHY SCREENING IS KEY.
DR. DAVID ALQUEST SAYS HIS HOPE
IS THAT COLOGUARD WILL OPEN UP
THE DOOR FOR SIMPLE SCREENING
TEST FOR MAYBE LIVER CANCERS.
WE DO, THOUGH, WANT TO NOTE HERE
THAT MAYO CLINIC, THEY GET
ROYALTIES FROM THIS TEST SO THEY
DO DEFINITELY HAVE AN INTEREST.
YEAH.
BUT AS SARAH SAID, THE BEST TEST
IS THE ONE THAT GETS DONE SO IF
THIS ENCOURAGES PEOPLE, RIGHT?