Guardant Health, Inc. announced the launch of Shield Across America, a historic coast-to-coast mobile screening tour bringing Shield, the first and only FDA-approved blood test as a primary colorectal cancer (CRC) screening option and recommended in national guidelines, directly to over 100 communities across the country from Las Vegas to Hartford, Atlanta and more. From national sporting events to rural senior centers and beyond, the tour will educate patients on the importance of CRC screening and provide patients of screening-eligible age the opportunity to screen with Shield via the mobile screening lab. The Shield Across America tour will focus on rural areas that face the biggest barriers to colorectal cancer screening and the highest incidence and mortality rates.
The tour launch coincides with National CRC Awareness Month, underscoring Guardant Health?s commitment to close America?s colorectal cancer screening gap and help more Americans get screened. CRC remains the second leading cause of cancer-related deaths in the U.S., and recently the leading cancer death for those under 50. Despite being highly treatable when caught early, more than 54 million eligible Americans ?
1 in 3 ? do not complete their CRC screening because they find current options unpleasant or inconvenient. Shield Across America aims to eliminate the barriers that have kept many Americans from getting screened by expanding access to Shield through mobile screening lab stops nationwide.
Shield is proven to increase screening rates in the real world, with 93% of patients completing the test in the first 100,000 Shield tests ordered ? a significant improvement in screening adherence rates over other types of tests.1 Recently, the National Comprehensive Cancer Network included the Shield blood test in its updated CRC screening guidelines, paving the way for improved patient access and additional major clinical guideline inclusions. Built on Guardant?s proprietary technology pioneered more than a decade ago, Shield is covered by Medicare, the Veterans Affairs Community Care Network and TRICARE, for active-duty service members, and is commercially available across the U.S. Shield is available by prescription only and can be completed during a routine doctor?s visit.
