Branson pharmacy offers free colon cancer screenings

My Neighbor’s Charitable Pharmacy partners with one of Exact Sciences' assistance programs, the ACT Now program, to provide free colon cancer screenings. Through this program, the pharmacy can order up to 10 Cologuard tests per month, totaling 100 per year, at no cost.

These Cologuard kits are completely free for individuals who need to be screened for colon cancer, as long as they are uninsured and earn less than 300% of the federal poverty limit—$46,950 annually for a single person or $96,450 for a family of four. Recipients do not need to be current patients or members of the pharmacy to receive a kit. The pharmacy operates on a membership model, where patients can access all their medications for just $10 per month if they fit the criteria of being uninsured and earning less than 300% of the federal poverty limit. 

Currently, Cologuard kits are shipped directly to recipients' homes. Once they arrive, individuals also have the option to pick them up at the pharmacy. After completing the test, kits can be returned at no cost by dropping them off at a UPS store or scheduling a home pickup for shipment back to Cologuard. Once testing is complete, the results are sent to the pharmacy, which then informs both the primary care doctor and the patient of the results.

If a screening result indicates the need for a colonoscopy, the pharmacy has a partnership with CoxHealth to help schedule the procedure. This is facilitated through Cox’s Gates Foundation under its CRAP (Colorectal Awareness Party) program.

They are the first pharmacy in Missouri at the moment to provide CRC screening to patients and the public.