This month, we highlight the exceptional efforts of Thermo Fisher Scientific and their employee Chris Huff for the golf tournament they coordinated in honor of Chris’s daughter, Candace Hall. The tournament, which took place in July in Buffalo, New York, raised $6,175 for the Colon Cancer Alliance’s research efforts and was a beautiful example of coming together as a work family.
Jay Buckingham of Thermo Fisher Scientific expressed to us that while this tournament was an effort to support Chris while her daughter was in treatment, Thermo Fisher Scientific’s mission of making the world cleaner, healthier, and safer directly aligned with our colon cancer research efforts.
Sadly, Candace passed away in August only one month after the tournament. Diagnosed at age 26, she was a tireless advocate for young-onset colorectal cancer and the research efforts being facilitated by the Colon Cancer Alliance. She became deeply involved in the Buffalo Undy Run/Walk as part of the Undy Engagement Committee, and her team “Candy’s Royal Heinies” was the largest in Buffalo Undy history. Tess Fraser, a personal friend of Candace’s and a Colon Cancer Alliance board member, shared that “Candace was a fierce warrior and fought her colon cancer battle with integrity, beauty, and grace. Her legacy and passion for raising awareness for late stage, young-onset colorectal cancer will continue on through this generous gift, and through the lives of everyone she has touched in our community.”
Today, ten percent of newly diagnosed colon cancer patients are under the age of fifty; 15,000 people each year. There is still so much to learn about why the rate of young people with colon cancer is on the rise, but the more we learn, the closer we will be to getting ahead of these trends and providing younger individuals with the tools they need to take control of their health. With the support of organizations like Thermo Fisher Scientific, we are able to push forward with funding lifesaving research efforts.
The Colon Cancer Alliance would also like to recognize the generosity of the Salah Foundation, which will be matching this donation for research.
For more information on young-onset colorectal cancer please visit our Young and Brave web site.
If you are interested in facilitating your own event in support of the Colon Cancer Alliance, please contact Jordan Winn, Manager of Individual Giving, at jwinn@ccalliance.org or 202-207-0246.