WEAR BLUE TO RAISE AWARENESS ABOUT A PREVENTBALE CANCER - COLON CANCER

March 1, 2010 – The 2nd Annual National Dress In Blue Day event will be held in communities and offices nationwide on Friday, March 5 as part of National Colon Cancer Awareness Month. “The purpose of Dress in Blue Day is to promote awareness about colon cancer, one of the few cancers you can prevent by getting screened early,” said Andrew Spiegel, CEO of the Colon Cancer Alliance (CCA). “Colon cancer is the second leading cause of cancer related deaths in the country, and we need to make sure that everyone 50 years old and older is talking with their doctor about getting a screening test. Dress in Blue Day is our way of getting people to talk about this important issue and save lives in the process.”

Dr. Sushil Patil with Associates in Gastroenterology at Summit Medical Center states, “Currently in the U.S. colorectal cancer is the third most commonly diagnosed cancer in men and women. Recent trends in colorectal cancer incidents revealed declining rates, which can be attributed to a few factors including the removal of precancerous polyps. Although observational studies have shown that survival rates increase with early detection, many adults in the U.S. are still not receiving regular age and risk appropriate screenings.” 

Dress in Blue Day encourages individuals, businesses and community groups to wear blue and talk to each other about the importance of colon cancer screenings. The idea for Dress in Blue Day originated in 2006 when a CCA volunteer and co-founder of Colon S.T.A.R.S. of Seattle wanted to find an effective way to honor a friend who had recently passed away from colon cancer and recognize others who had lost their fight against colorectal cancer. In 2009, the CCA, excited by the idea, worked with the group to bring national recognition to Dress in Blue Day. The CCA is the nation’s leading colorectal cancer patient advocacy organization, focused on prevention of this disease and survivorship.

The Colon Cancer Alliance (CCA) is a national patient advocacy organization dedicated to ending the suffering caused by colorectal cancer. In order to increase rates of screening and survivorship, CCA provides patient support, education, research and advocacy across North
America.

Summit Medical Center is a 188-bed regional medical center serving the residents of Davidson, Wilson and surrounding counties. Summit offers a full range of services including emergency, medical, surgical, obstetric, oncology, psychiatric and diagnostic services. The hospital also offers the latest advances in imaging services, including the area’s first hospital based 64-slice CT scanner. For more information, call TriStar MedLine at 615-342-1919 or visit www.TriStarHealth.com and click on Summit Medical Center.