CULLMAN, Ala. – Members of Relay For Life of Cullman County, Cullman Police Department (CPD) and the Cullman County Sheriff’s Office (CCSO) and Cullman Mayor Woody Jacobs gathered at Depot Park Friday morning to proclaim March 6, 2020 “Go Blue Day” to bring awareness to colon cancer. March is Colon Cancer Awareness Month.
“The American Cancer Society, beyond research funding and patient services, promotes awareness and prevention, and ‘Go Blue Day’ is just that,” said American Cancer Society (ACS) Board of Directors member Gary Cornelius, “in recognition of Colon Cancer Awareness Month. Promoting awareness that colon cancer is one of the most preventable cancers we can have, provided we have early screenings and protections: 45 is the new 50. Now they’re recommending that screenings start at age 45 because of the prevalence of colon cancer starting earlier in age now. ‘Go Blue Day’ is essentially an awareness event to promote awareness and try to educate the public as to what they can do to prevent cancer.”
Part of Relay For Life of Cullman County’s “Joint Cullman Colon Task Force,” CPD officers and CCSO deputies performed a “Blue Light Drive In” to go with Jacobs’ proclamation reading.
“We just got to thinking about, ‘What can we do to really draw attention to Go Blue Day?’ So, we reached out to CPD and CCSO and both were eager to participate,” said Cornelius, “so they formed what we jokingly call the ‘Joint Cullman Colon Task Force,’ and they did a ‘Blue Light Drive In.’”
He continued, “We all need to get our ‘Rear in Gear’ and get checked. We can do our part and prevent colon cancer.
Cornelius said early detection and treatment can result in a 90% survival rate.
Colorectal cancer is the second most common cause of cancer deaths for men and women in Alabama. Men have a 4.4% chance and women have a 4.1% chance of being diagnosed with cancer of the colon or rectum. While the survival rate is 90% when detected early, it drops to 10% if diagnosed in its later stages. Sadly, however, only 39% of colorectal cancers are detected early due to low rates of screening. Everyone 45 years of age and older should be screened.
The ACS estimates 2,460 cases of colorectal cancer will be diagnosed this year in Alabama, and 960 will die from the disease.
Jacobs was appreciative of the organizations involved with the proclamation and drive-in, saying, “We appreciate the American Cancer Society and the work they do in bringing awareness to issues like the importance of colorectal screenings and other cancer screenings. We also appreciate the sheriff’s department and the Cullman Police Department lending a hand to promote ‘Go Blue Day,’ a day set aside to offer education on the importance of early cancer detection and screening.”
Relay For Life of Cullman County Event Lead Helen Allen echoed Cornelius about awareness, sharing, “March is Colon Cancer Awareness Month so this ‘Go Blue Day’ was to try to get people to go ahead and get their colonoscopy, get tested for it, because as Gary said, it’s one of the most preventable cancers there is. We just try to get the word out on how everybody can benefit by the research that happens from funds raised by Relay For Life, because everybody benefits from what we do.”
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