Healthy Boiler

Colon cancer screening made easy via Center for Healthy Living's Cologuard® campaign

March is Colorectal Cancer Awareness Month, which is a great time to encourage you and your family members to take advantage of lifesaving colon cancer (also referred to as colorectal cancer) screening options. In conjunction with Cologuard® and Exact Sciences, the Center for Healthy Living (CHL) on Purdue’s West Lafayette campus, is again offering Cologuard® – a noninvasive stool-based test that detects blood and abnormal DNA associated with colon cancer and pre-cancer. Restrictions apply.*


“Human Resources – Benefits and the Center for Healthy Living (CHL) are committed to helping make colon cancer screening easy and accessible to Purdue employees,” said Candace Shaffer, senior director of benefits in Human Resources. “To fulfill that commitment is one of the reasons we are continuing the collaboration with Cologuard.® It also provides us the opportunity to offer an additional preventive screening to our population. We’ve seen increased screening mammogram rates due to our screening mammogram program, and we hope for a similar experience with colon cancer screenings for our population with the Cologuard® option in place.”  

The screening campaign also directly aligns with the Healthy Boiler Program’s physical health pillar, which supports and encourages preventive care -- among other things -- in an effort to help individuals achieve lasting physical health and overall well-being. 

*Keep in mind, Cologuard® is not intended for high-risk individuals; therefore, if any of the scenarios below apply to you, you are not eligible to receive Cologuard®. Eligible applicants should complete a pre-screening questionnaire on the Healthy Boiler Portal. The screening can be found under “Engage” on the Healthy Boiler Portal’s home page. 

Note: Per insurance and testing purposes, the following Please note, the following restrictions apply:

  • Less than 50 years old
  • Personal or family history of colon cancer
  • Personal history of inflammatory bowel disease, irritable bowel syndrome, Crohn’s, ulcerative colitis or colonic polyps
  • Cologuard within the past 3 years
  • Normal colonoscopy within the last 10 years
  • Greater than 85 years of age

Following the questionnaire completion and submission via the portal, there are only a few more steps:

  • CHL staff will do outreach following questionnaire completion to schedule an appointment.
  • After the appointment at the CHL, Cologuard kit will be delivered to patient homes.
  • Patient completes and returns the Cologuard kit to Cologuard/Exact Sciences in a prepaid envelope via US mail.
  • Results will be delivered to the CHL.
  • CHL staff will schedule a follow-up appointment to discuss results and next steps.

“Screening is the best way to prevent colon cancer,” Shaffer added. “And we hope that our Purdue community will take advantage of this ongoing campaign to learn where they stand in regards to their colon health. CHL staff members will address any questions or concerns employees might have, and will help guide anyone who doesn’t fit the Cologuard® requirements to other options as well as assist those who do use Cologuard® as their screening tool plan for what’s next based on their results. We are excited to be able to offer this type of screening option to Purdue’s population.”

For more information, visit the March is Colorectral Cancer Awareness Month web page or call the CHL at 765-494-0111.