Dress in Blue Day takes place on the first Friday in March (March 4, 2011) and encourages individuals, businesses and community groups to wear blue (the national colorectral cancer awareness color) and talk to each other about the importance of colorectal cancer prevention and screening. The Colorado Cancer Coalition’s (CCC) Colorectal Cancer Task Force is spearheading a statewide campaign to encourage Coloradoans to “Dress in Blue.”
This March, the American Cancer Society and the CCC’s Colorectal Cancer Task Force are encouraging men and women 50 and older to make getting tested for colorectal cancer a priority. Colorectal cancer (commonly referred to as colon cancer) is one of only two cancers that can actually be prevented through screening, which allows doctors to find polyps in the colon and remove them before they turn cancerous. Regularly scheduled colorectal cancer screening can help save lives and help achieve the American Cancer Society’s goal of creating a world with less cancer and more birthdays.
Every ten minutes a life is lost to colorectal cancer. The American Cancer Society estimates that 142,000 new cases of colon and rectal cancer were diagnosed in 2010 with an estimated 1,800 new cases in Colorado
Although many people may consider colorectal cancer an embarrassing topic of conversation, talking about the importance of being screened can save lives. Through recommended screening, this cancer can be caught early when treatment is most effective — or even prevented altogether when pre-cancerous polyps are detected and removed. Talking with your health care provider about colorectal cancer is essential to ensure optimal screening, prevention and early detection, and treatment.
In addition to screening, there are healthy lifestyle behaviors individuals can adopt to reduce risk of colon cancer. Studies show that being overweight or obese increases risk of colon cancer, and people whose diets include a high amount of red and processed meats are at increased risk. The American Cancer Society recommends that adults engage in at least 30 minutes of moderate to vigorous physical activity on five or more days of the week; and consume a healthy diet that includes five or more servings of vegetables and fruits each day, whole grains (instead of processed grains and sugars), limited alcohol and processed and red meats, and controlled portion sizes (visit cancer.org/GreatAmericans for tips and ideas on how to eat healthy and exercise regularly).
About the American Cancer Society
The American Cancer Society combines an unyielding passion with nearly a century of experience to save lives and end suffering from cancer. As a global grassroots force of more than three million volunteers, we fight for every birthday threatened by every cancer in every community. We save lives by helping people stay well by preventing cancer or detecting it early; helping people get well by being there for them during and after a cancer diagnosis; by finding cures through investment in groundbreaking discovery; and by fighting back by rallying lawmakers to pass laws to defeat cancer and by rallying communities worldwide to join the fight. As the nation’s largest non-governmental investor in cancer research, contributing about $3.4 billion, we turn what we know about cancer into what we do. As a result, about 11 million people in America
About the Colorado
This task force of the Colorado Cancer Coalition is a partnership of over 25 organizations and individuals from multiple disciplines, dedicated to saving lives through efforts to prevent colorectal cancer. The primary focus of this task force is prevention, as colorectal cancer is a truly preventable cancer. Because many of the prevention strategies focus on public awareness, a sub-group developed to focus on marketing and awareness activities.
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