Colorectal cancer is one of the most preventable cancers. It starts with a polyp, which can be detected during a routine colonoscopy and removed before becoming cancerous.
Twenty years ago, the Prevent Cancer Foundation® set out on a mission to educate the country about colorectal cancer and the screening options to detect it early and stop cancer before it starts. In 2000, we led the charge to establish March as colorectal cancer month. Now, 20 years later, we’re excited to share other ways we’ve been paving the way in colorectal cancer prevention and early detection.
Supporting communities
Over the years, we have awarded 19 grants at the community level to support colorectal cancer awareness, outreach and screening. In the past five years alone, these grants have been able to provide in-person colorectal cancer education to more than 23,000 people and screening services to more than 5,000.
Our community grants program empowers local, trusted organizations to get prevention resources and services to underserved populations at little or no cost to recipients. It makes a big difference when it comes to increasing access to screenings and saving lives.
“For people experiencing homelessness, it’s often hard to prioritize prevention,” said 2019 community partner Health Care for the Homeless. “Many people come in only when they are in pain or in need of urgent care, so it’s tough for providers to have time to discuss cancer prevention, let alone conduct a colorectal or cervical cancer screening. The [Prevent Cancer] Foundation has helped make cancer prevention education and colorectal cancer screening a higher clinical priority.”
Educating the public
What’s the best way to get people excited about colonoscopies? A giant inflatable colon usually does the trick!
Our Prevent Cancer Super Colon® is an interactive, educational tool that travels across America with the message that colorectal cancer is Preventable, Treatable, Beatable!® The colon has been everywhere from college campuses to hospitals to Native American powwows, and we’re continuing to find new and different venues each day.
A walk through the colon gives you an up-close look at:
- healthy colon tissue
- tissue with non-malignant colorectal disease like Crohn’s and colitis
- colorectal polyps
- various stages of colorectal cancer
Combined with comprehensive assets and knowledgeable staff, you’ll leave with a better understanding of colorectal cancer and the importance of screening.
Expanding our reach
Today, more adults under age 50 are being diagnosed with colorectal cancer than ever before. On top of this, they are more likely to be diagnosed at a later stage and to have to see two or more doctors before being diagnosed.
Colorectal cancer is no longer “an old person’s disease”—even if you’re under 50, you’re not Too Young for This Sh*t. We can provide you with the resources and information you need to reduce your cancer risk, recognize symptoms when they appear and seek help—even if that means seeking a second (or third) opinion.
Too Young for This Sh*t is currently being featured in Times Square and offered as a resource to our partner organizations. The more awareness we can bring to the rise of colorectal cancer in adults under 50, the more lives we can save. Join the movement by sharing with friends today.
When National Colorectal Cancer Month comes to an end on March 31, you can trust we will continue the fight year-round. Colorectal cancer is preventable, and we will keep working, sharing, funding, creating and fighting until all people can Stop Cancer Before It Starts!®
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