New service at Quest Diagnostics

Colorectal cancer is the third most common form of cancer and the second-leading cause of cancer-related death in the United States in men as well as women, according to the American Cancer Society. The Society indicates that a person with colorectal cancer has a greater than 90 percent chance of reaching the five-year survival rate if that person’s cancer is detected early, before it spreads. To date, only 39 percent of colorectal cancers are found at this critical early stage. The latest addition to the American Cancer Society’s guidelines – which include regular colonoscopies – is an annual fecal immunochemical test (FIT) for people 50 years of age and older who are at average risk.

Quest Diagnostics now offers an easy, convenient, and private way for people to have this test, called InSure^® FIT™. The test is used to collect specimens to be screened for colorectal cancer and other sources of lower gastrointestinal bleeding. It does not require you to make any special preparations, such as restricting what you eat or stopping your medications.

If your doctor thinks this test is right for you, he or she will give you a kit in the office, or you may pick up a kit at a Quest Diagnostics Patient Service Center, with a prescription. You collect the sample at home, prepare the cards, complete the submission form provided in the kit, and mail it to Quest Diagnostics, where it is tested.  

Quest Diagnostics has more than 30 Patient Service Centers conveniently located in six counties in Southwestern Pennsylvania. Quest Diagnostics, a joint venture partner with the University of Pittsburgh Medical Center (UPMC), is the nation’s leading provider of diagnostic testing and serves more than 145 million patients annually.