It isn't a pleasant subject. Colon cancer kills nearly 50,000 Americans every year. And the most common procedure to detect it, the colonoscopy, doesn't have a popular reputation, either.
To get people to face up to this malignant disease, doctors are calling March "Colon Cancer Awareness Month."
One group of doctors in North Central Florida is giving away 50 free colonoscopies to qualified people. The toll free telephone number to call to see if you qualify is 800-611-6913.
In the Medical Spotlight, Doctor Thomas Beers, a gastroentrologist with a practice at the Medical Arts building at North Florida Regional Medical Center, explains to TV20's David Snyder that many people may have early stage colon cancer and not even know it.