You have the power to help finish the fight against colon cancer

Colon cancer is not the easiest topic to discuss, or bring up. That’s one reason why, during National Colon Cancer Awareness Month, the American Cancer Society wants to share some of the basic facts and latest good news about this preventable, treatable, and beatable disease.

• Colon cancer is the third most commonly diagnosed cancer in men and women in the US, as well as the third leading cause of death for men and women.
• Colon cancer (formally known as colorectal cancer) almost always starts with a polyp – a small growth on the lining of the colon or rectum.
• Colon cancer can be prevented by finding and removing polyps before they become cancerous and is highly treatable when found in its early stages.

Colon cancer is one of only two cancers that can actually be prevented through screening (cervical cancer is the other). About half of all colon cancer deaths in the US could be prevented each year if everyone age 50 and older got screened for the disease. The American Cancer Society recommends everyone age 50 or older talk to their doctor about getting tested and about which test is right for them, even if there is no family history of the disease. Yet even if you’re several decades away from turning 50, it’s not too early to talk to your family about any relatives who have had colon cancer, because you may need to start getting tested earlier.

Since colon cancer nearly always begins with a polyp, getting tested is crucial. In addition to getting tested, you can take a few simple steps to help stay well and reduce your risk of colon cancer. It’s important to maintain a healthy weight and lifestyle by:

• Getting active: With regular physical activity most days of the week
• Eating right: Choosing vegetables, fruits, and whole grains; limiting red and processed meat, including pork and lunch meats; and limiting the amount of alcohol you drink to no more than two drinks per day for men and one drink per day for women
• Kicking the habit: Quitting or avoiding smoking and other tobacco products

Today, more Americans are surviving colon cancer than ever before. To learn more about how to reduce your risk or find colon cancer early, call your American Cancer Society anytime, day or night, at 1-800-227-2345 or visit cancer.org/colon.

 

Josh Groban, Mary J. Blige & Michael Douglas Among Celebrities joining American Cancer Society 100th Birthday Campaign to Finish the Fight

 

American Cancer Society Officially Launches its 100th Year with New Advertising

 

Today the American Cancer Society officially launched its 100th birthday campaign to finish the fight against cancer with new ads featuring award-winning artists Josh Groban and Mary J. Blige.

In television ads which will start airing today on networks including ABC, CBS, NBC and USA, Groban is shown at a bustling train station where he interrupts travelers’ usual commute with an electric amplifier, calling for a moment against silence because “silence won’t finish the fight, action will.” In a similar theme of making noise against cancer, Blige interrupts the typical library silence with a call to get loud and finish the fight against the disease. The ads are part of the Society’s larger efforts to leverage its 100th birthday to rally people everywhere to help make this cancer’s last century.

In a complementary print ad campaign starting in May, Academy Award-winning actor and cancer survivor Michael Douglas will appear in magazines such as Good Housekeeping, O, House Beautiful and Redbook. The ad focuses on the actor’s “life list” that includes finding a cure for throat cancer; and encourages readers to take action by visiting cancer.org/fight – the official website for the Society’s 100th birthday – for ways to get involved. Other celebrities/media personalities including Hoda Kotb, co-host of the Today Show and a breast cancer survivor, will also be featured in the print advertising; and starting in April, supporters will have a chance to create their own print ad to finish the fight.

“During the past 100 years, the American Cancer Society has refused to be silent about ending cancer, and our efforts have helped change the course of the disease in the U.S. and across the world,” said Andrew S. Goldsmith, vice president of brand and creative strategy at the American Cancer Society. “This campaign is designed to celebrate the progress we’ve made, but recognize that there is still more work to be done. A century ago, the Society began the fight of a lifetime, now it’s time to join together and finish the fight.”

The American Cancer Society is using its 100th birthday on May 22nd to encourage people to join together, make noise and take action to finish the fight against cancer. The Society urges everyone to make some noise by donating at cancer.org/fight, participating in a local Relay For Life or Making Strides Against Breast Cancer walk in their community and/or enrolling in its groundbreaking Cancer Prevention Study-3 to find better ways to prevent cancer.

Today, two out of three people diagnosed with cancer are surviving the disease (for at least five years). More than 400 people a day in the U.S. are celebrating birthdays that would have otherwise been lost to cancer. As the Official Sponsor of Birthdays ™, The American Cancer Society will continue to make noise by amplifying its efforts to ensure lifesaving cancer research gets funded; by making sure people facing cancer have the help they need, such as a free place to stay during treatment or a ride to get there; and by fighting for equal access to quality health care, lifesaving screenings, and clean air.

 

American Cancer Society Honors Kohala Resident as a 2013 Hero of Hope

Daveline Andaya Ching of Kohala, Hawai`i was honored by the American Cancer Society as a 2013 Hero of Hope. The award recognizes 28 cancer survivors and caregivers in the 6-state High Plains Division who have had exemplary involvement with Relay For Life, made significant contributions to cancer control, and made an impact in the lives of others.

Daveline Andaya Ching, American Cancer Society 2013 Hero of Hope

The American Cancer Society selected Daveline as well as several others from across six states representing 11 regions. The honorees selected symbolize the courageous struggle against cancer as they and family members deal with the physical and emotional aspects of their experience. They represent courageous voices of hope.

Daveline’s battle with thyroid cancer was more than a journey, it was a 10-year struggle that took her from her home in Kohala to Hilo and Honolulu for treatment and tests and finally to the Mayo Clinic in Minnesota. Along the way she lost her taste buds, was paralyzed from her waist down, lived with constant seizures for 9 years, forced to sell her house, but through her struggle she remained positive and was always there for her family. 

“I’ll never forget the day, it was Halloween 1994 when my OBGYN felt the lump on the side of my neck,” Daveline remembers. “My doctor took some samples, and in November I got the results. I had thyroid cancer.” Daveline took the diagnosis in stride and settled on getting better. In December, she had surgery to remove her thyroid, and in January began radiation. Her husband was her caregiver and drove from Kohala to Hilo, a 2-hour drive each way, for treatment. Every treatment required two trips to Hilo. One day for tests, and the next day for the treatment. By the end of May Daveline had enough. She couldn’t take anymore radiation and long drives. Miraculously everything was fine. The radiation treatment seemed to work. Daveline thought her cancer journey was over. What she didn’t know was that her struggles had just begun.

For the next year life was back to normal. Then one night in late June Daveline woke to find that she was paralyzed from her waist down. She struggled for an hour to reach the phone on the other side of her bed to call 911. The ambulance took her to emergency but the doctors didn’t know what was wrong. Then she started having seizures. For the next year, Daveline was constantly flying back and forth to Honolulu for tests. That’s when she contacted the American Cancer Society for help. “The American Cancer Society was there for me. They helped me with airline tickets to Honolulu,” she recalls.” Her doctors in Honolulu could not diagnose her condition and she was sent to the Mayo Clinic. After six days of tests her doctors at Mayo finally diagnosed her condition as Stiffman Syndrome. “They told me I would never walk again, and gave me about three years to live.” Daveline flew back home to Kohala, not to die, but to live. For the next four years she took her medication and she got better. In 2001, she participated in her first Relay For Life. “I could walked with my walker, but that night, my daughter walked for me.”

Daveline has been participating in Relay For Life ever since. “I will never be able to repay the American Cancer Society for everything they did for me,” she says. “For the transportation assistance they provided to get me to Honolulu. And for the ear and a shoulder, every time I needed someone to talk to. The American Cancer Society was always there for me.”

Today, Daveline is fine. No cancer, no Stiffman Syndrome, no seizures. “I participate in Relay For Life to encourage cancer patients, caregivers and their families that we need to keep fighting until we find a cure. I share my story about my struggle so others understand that there is hope.”

Tricia Adams, American Cancer Society Hawaii Pacific 2012 Hero of Hope with Daveline Ching, 2013 Hero of Hope

“The Hero of Hope Award offers an exceedingly visible sign of one’s courageous battle against cancer as well as inspires support and involvement in the programs offered by the Society,” says Maile Lincoln, American Cancer Society Hawai`i Pacific, Community Manager-Development, Hawai`i Island Field Office.  

Each Hero received their award at a special ceremony during the Relay For Life Leadership Summit held in Dallas, Texas.  “Hope for future cancer patients, and proof of the progress that is being made in cancer research, is evident through hearing these Heroes’ stories and meeting them,” says Lincoln. “We are proud of these individuals who prove to be true Heroes in their communities. They are without doubt profiles of courage and the reason we continue to Relay.”

For more information about the American Cancer Society visit cancer.org or call us 24/7 at 1.800.227.2345.  For more information about how to get involved in a Relay For Life event near you, visit relayforlife.org.