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January 13, 2010

Dress in Blue Day

Wear Blue to Raise Awareness about a Preventable Cancer -- Colon Cancer

WASHINGTON, D.C. (January 13, 2010) -- The 2nd Annual National Dress In Blue Day event will be held in communities and offices nationwide on Friday, March 5th as part of National Colon Cancer Awareness Month.

"The purpose of Dress in Blue Day is to promote awareness about colon cancer, one of the few cancers you can prevent by getting screened early," said Andrew Spiegel, CEO of the Colon Cancer Alliance (CCA).  "Colon cancer is the second leading cause of cancer related deaths in the country, and we need to make sure that everyone 50 years old and older is talking with their doctor about getting a screening test. Dress in Blue Day is our way of getting people to talk about this important issue and save lives in the process."

Dress in Blue Day takes place on the first Friday in March and encourages individuals, businesses and community groups to wear blue and talk to each other about the importance of colon cancer screenings.  In addition to asking people to Dress in Blue, CCA is providing individuals with "Ask Me Why I'm in Blue" buttons and bracelets designed to prompt meaningful and lifesaving conversations about this highly preventable disease. Dress in Blue Day 2010 is supported by Amgen.

The idea for Dress in Blue Day originated in 2006 when a CCA volunteer and co-founder of Colon S.T.A.R.S. of Seattle wanted to find an effective way to honor a friend who had recently passed away from colon cancer and recognize others who had lost their fight against colorectal cancer. In 2009, the CCA, excited by the idea, worked with the group to bring national recognition to Dress in Blue Day.

The CCA is the nation's leading colorectal cancer patient advocacy organization, focused on prevention of this disease and survivorship. The CCA meets individual patient and caregiver needs through three key programs: by connecting each of those diagnosed with a support network through its My CRC Connections Online Colorectal Cancer Community; peer to peer support through its Buddy Program and a Toll-Free Helpline. The CCA is working to get people talking about colon cancer and to promote early screenings through educational programs such as regional Conversations About Colorectal Cancer seminars, and fun events such as the Undy 5000 5K Runs (www.undy5000.org), Cities Go Blue for Colon Cancer and the annual Dress in Blue Day.

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The Colon Cancer Alliance (CCA) is a national patient advocacy organization dedicated to ending the suffering caused by colorectal cancer. In order to increase rates of screening and survivorship, CCA provides patient support, education, research and advocacy across North America.

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