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Mayo Clinic to participate in live celebrity broadcast to promote need to increase colorectal cancer screening rates
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ROCHESTER, Minn. – Mayo Clinic has joined Fight Colorectal Cancer, the American Cancer Society, and the National Colorectal Cancer Roundtable to highlight the need to increase colorectal cancer screening rates and raise awareness during Colorectal Cancer Awareness Month. The groups are collaborating on a live web broadcast from the Hard Rock Café in Times Square in New York City on Wednesday, March 1, from 1 to 3 p.m. EST. The Facebook Live broadcast will include Katie Couric, actor Luke Perry, country music artist Craig Campbell and professional racecar driver Scott Lagasse Jr. The celebrities will share their personal connections to colorectal cancer alongside survivors and medical professionals.
"Colorectal cancer is the second-leading cause of cancer deaths when men and women are combined, but the disease can often be prevented or detected early through screening," says Mayo Clinic gastroenterologist Paul Limburg, M.D., who will participate in the live broadcast. Dr. Limburg encourages people to discuss colorectal cancer screening with their physicians. He says that, in addition to colonoscopy, there are noninvasive screening options such as Cologuard, a stool DNA test that patients can do at home and mail in for analysis. Cologuard was co-developed by Mayo Clinic and Exact Sciences.
Dr. Limburg will interview celebrity participants on the “Blue Carpet” from 1 to 1:30 p.m. EST in a live broadcast on Mayo Clinic’s Facebook page. The formal program, which begins at 2 p.m. EST, will be streamed from the Countdown to 2018 site and on the Fight Colorectal Cancer Facebook page.
The live broadcast also will highlight the organizers' shared goal that 80 percent of eligible adults 50 years or older get screened annually for colorectal cancer by 2018.
The National Colorectal Cancer Roundtable launched the 80% by 2018 campaign in 2014, and, today, more than 1,300 organizations across the country have pledged to support this public health goal.
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About Fight Colorectal Cancer
Fight Colorectal Cancer is a national nonprofit advocacy organization fighting for a cure. It was founded in 2005 by Nancy Roach, a nationally recognized patient advocate who witnessed the need for colorectal cancer advocacy after her mother-in-law’s diagnosis. The organization plays an important role in rallying colorectal cancer advocates to action. Fight Colorectal Cancer is known for activism and patient empowerment throughout patient, academic, political, scientific, medical and nonprofit communities. With a mission focused on advocacy, research, patient education and awareness, the organization serves advocates in every state of the U.S. and many countries around the world. To learn more, visit fightcrc.org.
About the American Cancer Society
The American Cancer Society is a global grass-roots force of 2 million volunteers saving lives in every community. As the largest voluntary health organization, the society's efforts have contributed to a 23 percent decline in cancer death rates in the U.S. since 1991 and a 50 percent drop in smoking rates. The society is finding cures as the nation's largest private, not-for-profit investor in cancer research, ensuring people facing cancer have the help they need and continuing the fight for access to quality health care, lifesaving screenings and more. For more information, to get help, or to join the fight, call the society anytime at 1-800-227-2345 (toll-free), or visit cancer.org.
About the National Colorectal Cancer Roundtable
The National Colorectal Cancer Roundtable was established by the American Cancer Society and the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention in 1997. The roundtable is a national coalition of public, private and voluntary organizations whose mission is to advance colorectal cancer control efforts by improving communication, coordination and collaboration among health agencies, medical-professional organizations and the public. The ultimate goal of the roundtable is to increase the use of proven colorectal cancer screening tests among the entire population for whom screening is appropriate. Visit nccrt.org for more information.
About Mayo Clinic
Mayo Clinic is a nonprofit organization committed to clinical practice, education and research, providing expert, whole-person care to everyone who needs healing. For more information, visit http://www.mayoclinic.org/about-mayo-clinic or https://newsnetwork.mayoclinic.org/.
MEDIA CONTACT
Joe Dangor, Mayo Clinic Public Affairs, 507-284-5005, newsbureau@mayo.edu
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