To help promote colorectal cancer screening awareness, attendees received free t-shirts featuring the funny slogan “Get Your Rear in Gear!”. Families were encouraged to do a 1K walk or run on the upstairs track before heading down to enjoy the activities.

Serving as a main attraction, community members of all ages took their first walk through the Prevent Cancer Super Colon and learned about the importance of colorectal cancer screening and prevention. Other fun activities included:

• Complimentary water bottles, bananas and granola bars for the public to enjoy as they walked around the gym
  

  Family Fun Day volunteers pose in front of the Prevent Cancer Super Colon at the Kearney YMCA.

• An educational booth run by a nutritionist from Good Samaritan Hospital about healthy eating, including helpful tips for getting enough fruit, vegetables and protein into daily meals
• Kid friendly activities such as an inflatable obstacle course, a trail mix station and a fruit smoothie station
• A prize table where a few lucky community members won drawings for bikes, iPods and gift certificates.

Good Samaritan Hospital won the Prevent Cancer Foundation’s 2012 Colorectal Cancer Screening Saves Lives National Challenge. Out of 19 applicants, they made it to the top three by recruiting nearly 300 online votes for their community project. As a winner of the National Challenge, they received a $5,000 grant and a Prevent Cancer Super Colon exhibit stop.

The state of Nebraska has the second highest incidence rate in the U.S. for colorectal cancer in residents 50 and over. It also has one of the lowest colorectal cancer screening rates in the country*, making programs on the prevention and early detection of colorectal cancer a vital need for the community. The Prevent Cancer Foundation was proud to partner with Good Samaritan Hospital for their Family Fun Day–a step in the right direction in engaging the Kearney community on healthy living, wellness and colorectal cancer screening.

Learn more about the Colorectal Cancer Screening Saves Lives National Challenge & vote for your favorite colorectal cancer prevention & screening community project by visiting http://screeningsaves.org/

*National Cancer Institute’s State Cancer Profiles, 2013

At the event, guests had the opportunity to tour the Prevent Cancer Super Colon and receive important information about colorectal cancer prevention as well as a free take home colorectal cancer test kit. Several healthcare professionals from the Hope Center, a cancer center, and Northwest Georgia Oncology Center were onsite throughout the day to help encourage colon cancer screening, answer questions and give tours of the cancer center.The Center is located across one of Cartersville’s major shopping centers, allowing us to attract shoppers who had no idea they would be stepping inside a giant colon that day. Many of our visitors heard about us from the hospital media and local press as well. Our interactive colon was a big hit for the young families that came to learn more about cancer prevention. The colon exhibit was a great way to teach kids the importance of eating their fruits and veggies and being active as an easy way to start keeping their body healthy and preventing colon disease and cancer. I also had the opportunity to give a tour of the Prevent Cancer Super Colon to a local cable television show.

Oncology doctor w/ daughter inside our giant colon exhibit!

The Prevent Cancer Foundation would like to thank our host, Cartersville Medical Center and Northwest Georgia Regional Cancer Coalition, the event sponsor, for inviting us to participate in this wonderful event. It was great working with people who truly share a passion for sharing the message of prevention and early detection of colorectal cancer.

The purpose of the National Challenge is to champion “grass-roots” community projects in colorectal cancer screening and awareness and to engage participating organizations in an online community supportive of colorectal cancer screening efforts across the country. Past projects have included a dodge ball tournament, community health fairs and races to raise awareness of colorectal cancer prevention and early detection.

Applications are due March 5, 2013 and community engagement activity must be completed by March 29, 2013. For more information on project requirements, including eligibility and selection, view the Guidelines and Application.

Bring the Prevent Cancer Super Colon exhibit to your community by entering the 2013 National Challenge

• FREE colorectal cancer resources for ALL applicants.
• ALL individuals who VOTE will receive a “Preventable, Treatable, Beatable” Buddy Bracelet and a Blue Star pin.

The FIRST Prize Winner receives a $3,000 grant to support the winner’s community screening or awareness project, a Prevent Cancer Super Colon™ exhibit stop in the winner’s community ($10,000 value), a feature on the Prevent Cancer blog, an article in the Cancer PreventionWorks newsletter and acknowledgement on the Screening Saves Lives website. The Guidelines cover all prize information, including second-place ($1,500 grant) and third-place ($500 grant) prizes.

The Screening Saves Lives website – www.screeningsaves.org – is the home base for the competition where individuals can join Our Community, learn more about colorectal cancer, post stories and vote for the 2013 challenge entries.

Send questions to Erica Childs Warner, Director, Outreach and Evaluation, at echilds@preventcancer.org.

Dr. A.J. Magana and staff

Shoppers at the Monument Mall in Scottsbluff, NE were in for a treat when the Prevent Cancer Super Colon visited the mall’s center on March 2 and 3. Sponsored by Regional West Medical Center, the exhibit was a part of a health fair with tables of information about colorectal cancer, breast health and high fiber nutrition. Dr. A.J. Magana, a local gastroenterologist, and members of his staff were present for both days and were fantastic at giving tours through the exhibit and answering questions.

Patients at Lack’s Cancer Center in Grand Rapids, MI were greeted by the Prevent Cancer Super Colon when they entered the center’s lobby on March 8 and 9. The exhibit, sponsored by Saint Mary’s Health Center, had a few hundred visitors who walked through and received colorectal cancer information. The Center’s gastroenterology nurses, along with volunteers from Grand River Gastroenterology, helped share information on colorectal cancer and screening with patients, family members and the general public. Even hosts from the local radio station “Wood Radio” were eager to help out! They dressed up as polyps and encouraged people in the hospital’s cafeteria to stop by the exhibit and learn about colorectal cancer prevention and early detection.

Cheryssa and the Easter Bunny at the Walnut Square Mall in Dalton, GA

Hamilton Health sponsored the biggest March turnout for the Prevent Cancer Super Colon at the Walnut Square Mall in Dalton, GA on March 23 and 24. The exhibit had a prime location right in the center of the mall and had relatively steady traffic as shoppers walked by and families came over to visit the Easter Bunny. Over 1,200 visitors walked through the exhibit and received information from the Prevent Cancer Foundation and Hamilton Health. The two-day event was kicked off by an informative speech and presentation by gastroenterologist Dr. Stephanie LaFontaine.

As part of the National Tour, sponsored by Bristol-Myers Squibb, the exhibit visited the beautiful new Morton Health Clinicin North Tulsa, Oklahoma on Thursday, March 29. The event featured tables from Morton Health about a high fiber diet and cancer information in English and Spanish. Representatives from the Cherokee National Cancer Program were also there to share information about women’s health and cancer information in English and in Cherokee. Of the people who took a post-event survey, over 94% said they learned something new, would share information with others and would make changes in their own lives after visiting the health fair.

Children enjoying the walk through the Prevent Cancer Super Colon in Tulsa.

Wrapping up the month on March 31, the Prevent Cancer Super Colon was displayed inside the Neal Community Recreation Center in Bryan, TX, thanks to Bristol-Myers Squibb and Texas A&M University System Health Science Center. Not only did the Health Festival feature one-on-one colon cancer risk evaluations with community health workers, but also provided diabetes checks, breast exams, HIV testing, and vision and hearing screenings. With over 100 volunteers guiding visitors to the appropriate resources and 35 colonoscopies scheduled, the day was quite busy and great success for prevention and early detection!

A big “thank you” to all of the wonderful contacts I worked with to make these fantastic events happen. National Colorectal Cancer Awareness Month may be over, but awareness about prevention and early detection should last all year. If you’re interested in bringing the Prevent Cancer Super Colon to your area or viewing the upcoming schedule, visit http://preventcancer.org/what-we-do/education/super-colon/.

Over the past 25 years, the Prevent Cancer Foundation has worked to educate the public about the importance of prevention and early detection in lowering cancer incidence and mortality. In 2000, Prevent Cancer convened a coalition of 57 colorectal cancer organizations to urge Congress to recognize March as National Colorectal Cancer Awareness Month, and subsequently launched a major colorectal cancer awareness campaign to educate the public that colon cancer is Preventable, Treatable and Beatable.  This campaign has raised understanding about the importance of regular screening in colorectal cancer prevention to unprecedented levels over the past decade.

The Foundation provides a variety of CRC education and awareness programs. This year, the Foundation launched the first annual Screening Saves Lives National Challenge in conjunction with the new Web site ScreeningSaves.org. The competition offered community-based colorectal cancer projects the chance to win a one-day visit with the Super Colon and a $5,000 grant for related CRC activities.

ScreeningSaves.org also affords the Campaign a broader reach both across the country and online. The Foundation’s exhibit, the Prevent Cancer Super Colon™ travels around the country to both urban and rural areas with a specific focus on communities that are underserved or at greater increased risk for CRC.

The Foundation’s Dialogue for Action on Colorectal Cancer Screening conference brings together colorectal health professionals, advocates, community leaders and sponsors to discuss the challenges and solutions to colorectal screening. Dialogue for Action is part of a comprehensive and coordinated cancer prevention strategy that reaches out through states and regions, including outreach to Native American and Alaska native tribes.

We continue our efforts to reduce cancer incidence and mortality by funding research, educating the public and providing outreach programs that help thousands in communities across the country. The Prevent Cancer Foundation continues to urge the public to learn the facts about colorectal cancer. With regular screening, CRC continues to be Preventable, Treatable, Beatable!

With such a remarkable backdrop and with hundreds of children cooling off in the Fountain of Rings, the Prevent Cancer Super Colon stop, made possible through the support of Amgen, soon became one of the day’s most sought out attractions. The Foundation welcomed more than 800 individuals through the Prevent Cancer Super Colon.  Many adults expressed great interest in knowing more about colorectal cancer prevention and many others shared their own experiences with colitis and polyps or stories of colon cancer battles. Overall, the hundreds of people who stopped by were quite diverse in age, race, and ethnic background. A host of children, coming directly from the Fountain of Rings, made it through the Super Colon in their wet swimsuits and for the first time in the history of the exhibit, a group of runners literally jogged through the Prevent Cancer Super Colon.

The Foundation partnered with Morehouse School of Medicine, Georgia Cancer Coalition, Northside Hospital, and American Cancer Society for the day’s educational exhibit. They were able to assist local individuals with specific questions about upcoming events, and colorectal cancer screenings and treatment.

One of the day’s highlights was when survivors who visited the Prevent Cancer Super Colon encouraged others to get regular colonoscopies.

Check out the video of the event and some of the enthusiastic visitors who shared their personal stories and their impressions of the Prevent Cancer Super Colon.

The Prevent Cancer SuperColon was sponsored by the California Colon Cancer Control Program (CCCCP) whose mission is to save lives by preventing and reducing the devastating effects of colon cancer for Californians through education, early detection, diagnosis and treatment, and integrated preventive services, with special emphasis on the underserved.  CCCCP is a federally funded program, run by the California Department of Public Health, established to increase awareness of colon cancer through public health education. 

Unlike many other cancers, colon cancer is preventable, treatable, and beatable through early detection.  The bilingual Prevent Cancer SuperColon exhibit raises awareness about the importance of early colon cancer detection and encourages visitors to get screened for the disease. It shows healthy colon tissues, as well as polyps at various stages.  Onsite at the festival were Spanish speaking volunteers to help community members understand how healthy lifestyles play an important role in preventing colon cancer.

Watch this YouTube video!

The event featured many booths with health resources, give-aways, musical entertainment, a bike raffle, free kayak rides and the Prevent Cancer SuperColon was onsite to raise awareness and spotlight Colorectal Cancer in the Latino community.  Dave Cortese, County Supervisor,  was the starter for the walk and is an ongoing advocate of the work Latinas Contra Cancer does in the community.  This California non-profit was founded in 2004 by Ysabel Duron, a San Francisco newscaster and cancer survivor.  Since then they have worked to increase access to quality care, to decrease mortality and improve the quality of the health care experience.  They also provide education and outreach services and partner with health care institutions to bridge the gap through culturally competent outreach and medical care.  Ms. Duron comments that, “Talking about cancer won’t kill us, the silence will. We confront this deadly disease very publicly to give support and inspire hope.” 

Watch the YouTube video!

The exhibit is part of the Prevent Cancer Foundation’s National Colon Cancer Awareness Campaign that is sponsored by Amgen Oncology.

Voting is open until May 6; don’t miss the chance to vote for the project you think will make the biggest difference. Only the top vote-getters will move on to the selection process, so your vote counts.  The winner receives a $5000 grant and a visit from the Prevent Cancer Super Colon™.

At screeningsaves.org, you can read the entries, and then vote for your favorite project. It’s easy and it’s fun!  Once you’ve voted, don’t stop there! While you’re on the site:

• Visit Learn, an interactive section that will teach you more about colorectal cancer and screening
• Send a Screen-A-Gram to someone you know who needs to be screened for colorectal cancer. It is a light-hearted way to convey a very important message: Screening Saves Lives.
• Participate in the Colorectal Online Community where you can discuss new ideas, learn about screening efforts across the country, and share experiences.

Screeningsaves.org is full of sharing opportunities. The Prevent Cancer Foundation knows that cancer touches many lives: consider submitting a story about how it may have touched yours.

What started out as a slow morning quickly began to change about the time “Elvis” was in the market. Folks loaded down with their fresh fruits and vegetables started strolling over to see why Elvis was hanging out with a large, 8 ft tall, 20 foot long, inflatable colon – and exactly what it was.  Initially, there was a look of shock on some faces and a few skeptical comments ranging from, “Oh man, it’s really a colon,” followed quickly by, “I’m not going in there.” But one by one they filed through – and learned about colon cancer  facts, risk factors and early detection. One young couple and their daughter traveled 30 miles to see the Super Colon, asked a few questions, and shared some concerns.

As I am with all Super Colon stops, I’m overwhelmed by the personal stories shared with me. One story in particular touched my heart. A woman of 57 came over with her 15 year-old son and told me how she had lost both of her parents to colon cancer in the last two years. Sadly, her father lost his fight after battling lung cancer previously. Before the family could heal from the loss, her mother became ill and the doctors, without testing, attributed it to anxiety over losing her husband. After 6 months, tests were finally performed and her mother was diagnosed with colon cancer. She lost her fight within months. As the woman told the story and walked through the exhibit, she cried; the loss so evident in her every word and every step.
After talking more with the woman, I found she had yet to get a colonoscopy herself! Both she and her brother had planned to after their dad was diagnosed, but never got around to it. Then they talked about it again after their mother was diagnosed. Still, neither one had had a colonoscopy. I wanted to slap her and scream, “Wake up!” Instead I asked if she wanted her son to feel the same pain she was feeling right now? She looked at her son and, of course, the answer was no.

She left with my card and a promise to contact me as soon as she made her appointment, and again after the colonoscopy, to let me know how it went. Her son promised to nag her until she had scheduled an appointment and had the procedure. I hope I get an email from her soon.

I want to thank our partners that made the Nashville Super Colon stop possible; the Tennessee Comprehensive Cancer Control Program and Vanderbilt-Ingram Cancer Center. Both organizations did an outstanding job getting local media interested in the exhibit and getting the word out to the community. Also, our sincere gratitude to sanofi-aventis for sponsoring the event.  Interested in learning more about colorectal cancer (CRC), want to ask a question or share your personal story? Visit ScreeningSaves.org .

Watch the video!