• Cancer

    Fighting Colorectal Cancer With a #StrongArmSelfie

Drs. Will and Charlie statues doing #StrongArmSelfie for colon cancer awareness

Mayo Brothers Flex against Colorectal Cancer in “Stronger Than That” Video 

Mayo Clinic’s founders join patient activists, celebrities, employees from all three Mayo Clinic sites and two iconic American statues in a new music video supporting the #StrongArmSelfie campaign to promote colorectal cancer screening.

The video is based on “Stronger Than That,” the song BBR Music Group's Craig Campbell wrote and recordedStrong Arm Selfie image of Dr. Dozois' colon cancer surgery team to support the Fight Colorectal Cancer awareness campaign. Campbell is donating all proceeds from download sales of the song to @FightCRC, and Bayer Healthcare is giving @FightCRC $1 for each #StrongArmSelfie photo or brief video posted publicly to Twitter, Instagram, Facebook, Flickr or Vine, up to a maximum of $25,000.

The Mayo Clinic production combines video clips of Mayo staff and #StrongArmSelfie social network posts to illustrate Campbell’s anthem. It also includes animations of the Statue of Liberty, the Lincoln Memorial and an iconic statue of William J. Mayo, M.D. and Charles H. Mayo, M.D. It’s available on Mayo Clinic’s YouTube channel.

MEDIA CONTACT: Lee Aase, Mayo Clinic Public Affairs, 507-284-5005, newsbureau@mayo.edu

 

“The Mayo brothers were preeminent social networkers,” explains Farris Timimi, M.D., a Mayo Clinic cardiologist and medical director of the Mayo Clinic Center for Social Media. “Their goal was to reduce the burden of disease everywhere. Before his death in 1939, Dr. Will traveled to 25 countries – from Australia and Argentina to Russia and Sweden – to connect with professional colleagues and share knowledge. Today we’re using modern tools to make connections that formerly required arduous travel by train and steamship. We’re convinced Dr. Will and Dr. Charlie would fully support harnessing the latest technology to fight disease and promote health.”

“We hope our video will stimulate both song downloads and #StrongArmSelfie posts, but our main goal is to stimulate conversations,” says Mayo Clinic gastroenterologist Paul Limburg, M.D., “Colorectal cancer is the second-leading cause of deaths from cancers that affect both men and women, and yet with appropriate screening it is among the most preventable.

“For the general population, colorectal cancer screening should start at age 50.  For people at increased risk, including African Americans and individuals with a family history of colorectal cancer, screening should start at a younger age, after discussion with your doctor. About one-third of those who should be screened currently aren’t; hopefully this campaign will help change that,” Dr. Limburg concludes.

The Fight Colorectal Cancer campaign page includes links to educational resources from Mayo Clinic, as well as a video of Dr. Limburg outlining screening options. On Wednesday, March 25 at noon Central time, Mayo Clinic will host a live educational webinar featuring Dr. Limburg. He will share the latest information on colon cancer prevention and screening, and host a live question and answer session. Register to attend here.

The campaign, which officially launched March 3 when Campbell rang the closing bell at NASDAQ, runs through August.

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About Mayo Clinic

Mayo Clinic is a nonprofit organization committed to medical research and education, and providing expert, whole-person care to everyone who needs healing. For more information, visit http://mayocl.in/1ohJTMS, or https://newsnetwork.mayoclinic.org/

About Fight Colorectal Cancer

Fight Colorectal Cancer is a leading colorectal cancer nonprofit in Washington, D.C. Through patient education, advocacy and research funding the group spreads awareness and demands a cure for the second-leading killer in the United States. As the leading advocacy group, the organization serves as a resource for colorectal cancer patients, grassroots advocates, policy makers, medical professionals and health care providers. Learn more at http://www.FightColorectalCancer.org.

About Craig Campbell 

Craig Campbell launched on to the Country music scene with the release of his self-titled debut album (2011) delivering the hits “Family Man,” “Fish,” and “When I Get It.” To date, he has logged four consecutive charted hits with over a billion radio airplay audience impressions and over a half million downloads. Acclaimed as one of the genre's most neo-traditionalist singers, his Top 15 breakout debut “Family Man” was featured on HBO’s True Blood and the top-selling fan-favorite “Fish” has tallied nearly 400,000 digital copies sold. Most recently, Campbell earned his first Top 10 smash with the infectious “Keep Them Kisses Comin’” from his sophomore album NEVER REGRET (2013) produced by Keith Stegall (Alan Jackson, Zac Brown Band) and Matt Rovey (CCMA Album Of The Year Producer).

The gifted songwriter co-penned six of the tracks on the twelve-song project. Prior to landing his first record deal, the Lyons, GA native spent time on the road playing keyboard for both Tracy Byrd and Luke Bryan - shows that inspired him nightly. He was soon discovered while playing a regular gig at the downtown Nashville honky-tonk, The Stage. Campbell has been playing his own headlining shows nationwide, with regular performances at the Grand Ole Opry and shared the stage with artists such as Alan Jackson, The Band Perry, Jerrod Niemann and Justin Moore. Recently signing to BBR Music Group’s RED BOW RECORDS roster and Magic Mustang Music arm for publishing, the talented singer will be releasing a new single in early 2015. For more information, visit www.craigcampbell.tv.