CDC has launched the Colorectal Cancer Control Program (CRCCP) by providing funding to 26 states and tribes across the United States. The program supports population-based screening efforts and provides colorectal cancer screening services to low-income men and women aged 50–64 years who are underinsured or uninsured for screening, when no other insurance is available. The CRCCP expands on CDC's Colorectal Cancer Screening Demonstration Program.

The funding will support screening and diagnostic follow-up care, patient navigation, data collection and tracking, public education and outreach, provider education, and an evaluation to measure the clinical outcomes, costs, and effectiveness of the program. The local programs are expected to begin screening patients for colorectal cancer within six months.

States and Tribes in CDC’s Colorectal Cancer Control Program

Colorectal cancer—cancer of the colon or rectum—is the second leading cause of cancer-related deaths in the United States. In 2005, 53,005 people in the United States died of colorectal cancer (26,781 men and 26,224 women).¹*

Colorectal cancer screening saves lives. Screening can find precancerous polyps (abnormal growths in the colon or rectum) so that they can be removed before turning into cancer. Screening also helps find colorectal cancer at an early stage, when treatment often leads to a cure. If everyone aged 50 or older had regular screening tests and all precancerous polyps were removed, as many as 90% of deaths from colorectal cancer could be prevented.