This year, we teamed up with our friends at Fight Colorectal Cancer to turn all 50 states blue and recognize March as National Colon Cancer Awareness Month. Volunteers across the nation took on the challenge and successfully received proclamations from 46 of the 50 states plus two state-issued letters, declaring the nation nearly all blue. President Obama even proclaimed March as National Colon Cancer Awareness Month. What a month it has been!
We don’t want this momentum to end. Volunteers across the nation are making strides and we want to continue the movement by keeping colon cancer awareness to the forefront. What does this mean? We need your voice and we need your action to make this happen.
About 65% of people who should be getting screened are taking action. We’re setting our sights on improving this statistic and joined the colon cancer community in declaring a collective goal of an 80% screening rate by 2018. With 23 million Americans not being up-to-date with screening, we see this as an opportunity to get the word out and save lives.
Here are 5 ways YOU can help reach this goal:
1. Get screened if you're 50 or older or have risk factors, then share your story! Your experience can help dismantle fears and encourage others to take action.
2. Encourage your family members to get screened. Show them their options.
3. Encourage your GI clinic to sign the 80% by 2018 pledge. Download it.
4. Use these social media tools to encourage screening. Download now.
5. Become an agent of change and get involved in an event happening near you! Find events now.
Together we can succeed in getting 80% of Americans screened for colon cancer by 2018!
Questions? Want to volunteer? Email Nancy Butterfield at nbutterfield@ccalliance.org or 202-628-0123 x112.