Out of the slew of cancers that an individual can be diagnosed with colon cancer remains one of the most treatable with early detection. Despite this many individuals do not participate in the recommended screening procedures for detection of the disease. Lewis County in particular is currently failing to meet the Healthy People 2020 objective for colon cancer screenings and diagnosis (statecancerprofile.cancer.gov). The community was also recently shocked with the disease when the wife of the local county judge executive received a seriously poor prognosis from a late stage 4 colon cancer diagnosis. In an effort to help more individuals learn about what they can do for early detection, the Lewis County Extension Office, Primary Plus, and UK Healthcare teamed up to host a colon cancer luncheon in Lewis County.

The luncheon was offered twice on May 24^th 2019 at 12:00 PM and again at 6:00 PM. This was done in an effort to capture the widest audience possible including those who could attend during their lunch break and those who wanted to attend after working hours. Following a light meal nurse practitioners and other health care professionals from both Primary Plus and UK Healthcare gave an educational presentation detailing what colon cancer was and treatment options. Alternative methods to the traditional colonoscopy were also discussed including the Cologaurd and Fecal Immunochemical Test (FIT). The Lewis County Extension SNAP assistant provided a presentation on the importance of fiber to colon health and presented the Plate it Up KY Proud Cucumber Chicken Salad recipe on whole grain bread as an example/sample.

Near the end of the luncheon a local speaker talked about her experience with the Colouard test and how it saved her life by helping to detect cancerous polyps early. A local speaker was included to help individuals in attendance realize that colon cancer can happen to anyone in the community but early detection can make it treatable. As the luncheon ended, one participant stated “this was something that was truly needed. So many people don’t want to talk about the testing but it is such an important thing to do”.

Overall attendance during the day totaled 52 individuals, 50 of which were Caucasian and 2 of which were African American. 34 of the participants in the luncheon were female and 18 were male.