March 4th is Dress in Blue Day for Colorectal Cancer Awareness

Governor Hickenlooper of Colorado Proclaims March Colorectal Cancer Awareness Month

Denver, Colo March 2011 – 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 . Dress in Blue Day is designed to encourage people to talk about the disease while stressing the importance of timely colorectal cancer screening.

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).