Though colorectal cancer cases have been steadily decreasing for the past two decades, it remains the third most common cancer in both men and women.

According to the American Cancer Society, nearly all unscreened people know they need a colon cancer screening. So why aren’t they getting screened, specifically via colonoscopy?

One of the top reasons is due to the complexity and cost of getting the screening — including the financial loss from taking off work.

Norton Healthcare is trying to help by offering Saturday colonoscopies two days per month at Norton Women’s & Children’s Hospital in St. Matthews.

“We know that 9-to-5 Monday through Friday colonoscopies don’t work for everyone. Taking off a full day from work for the procedure is hard for a lot of people to manage financially,” said Michelle Julien, M.D., colorectal surgeon with Norton Surgical Specialists, and one of the surgeons performing Saturday colonoscopies. “If we truly want to keep people well, we have to be flexible in when we make our services available to them. Saturday colonoscopies are a step toward that.”

If you have a patient who would like to have a screening colonoscopy done on a Saturday, you can note the preference in Epic. Select the “Yes” button for the new “Weekend preference” option in the Ambulatory Referral for Screening Colonoscopy. The Saturday program is being offered with rotating gastrointestinal and general surgery providers. The schedulers in the specialty practices will ensure the patient is scheduled for the Saturday that best meets the patient’s needs.