In my 34 years of professional nursing, I have witnessed the profound and often unimaginable toll that cancer has on patients and their families.

Among the most common forms is colorectal cancer, which affects the colon or rectum and is the second-deadliest cancer among men and women in West Virginia, with over half of cases being diagnosed at a late stage. What makes this especially tragic is that, when detected early, colorectal cancer has an impressive 90% five-year survival rate. Early detection is not just important, but it can mean the difference between life and death.

These challenges reflect deeper barriers facing our communities, particularly the need for greater health literacy to understand the importance of screening and the options available. For many rural West Virginians,

See Full Page