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Kentucky Makes Progress To Fight Cancer

Spry Publishing

Governor Beshear has joined members of the Kentucky Cancer Foundation and state health care officials to announce the state is making progress in its battle with high cancer rates.

The Foundation says it is nearing its goal of matching dollar for dollar the one-million dollars in funding Governor Beshear placed in his budget last year to establish the Kentucky Colon Cancer Screening Program.

The project is in the process of screening 2,000 uninsured Kentuckians through June 30, 2014. Dr. Thomas Frazer has a practice in Lawrence County (KY).

"We're saving lives by doing this project, we're touching lives by doing this project, we're starting to mend relationships between patients, physicians and the health department and the hospital. It's just overall, a win-win situation." --Thomas Frazier 

The Foundation says 25 percent of those who had colonoscopies were found to have pre-cancerous polyps that were removed to prevent the development of cancer.

Kentucky is one of the worst states in the nation for cancer. Health officials say of all the Kentucky cancer deaths from 2005 through 2009, 52 percent were from lung, breast, cervical and colon cancers.  

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