Local Marched to Get Screened 5K Raises Colon Cancer Awareness and Funds
February 20, 2012Jacksonville, Florida – February 16, 2012 –March is National Colorectal Cancer Awareness Month and your “marching orders” are to come and join us for the third annual March to Get Screened 5K, to help raise awareness about the importance of getting screened for colon cancer.
The March to Get Screened 5K will be on Sunday, March 4, 2012. The race starts at 1 p.m. at Fionn MacCool’s in Jacksonville Beach. Registration begins at 12 noon. The race is on the beach. It begins and ends at Fionn MacCool’s and loops around at North Street in Neptune Beach. The race is free for all participants but donations to the BGC Foundation for Research and Education are greatly appreciated.
The funds raised last year resulted in 27 free colonoscopies at a cost of $72,358, which was funded by the BGC Foundation for Research and Education. Those colonoscopies, performed by Borland-Groover Clinic, resulted in the location, identification and removal of several precancerous polyps from the patients screened.
Other sponsors for the event include Fionn MacCool’s, Beson4 Media Group, Earth Systems, Olympus and OneSource.
The specialists at Borland-Groover Clinic want you to know that colorectal cancer is one of the most prevalent cancers in the United States and it is the third most common causes of cancer deaths in men and women. The simple truth is that colon cancer tumors start as polyps and the removal of those polyps also eliminates the threat of them becoming cancerous.
If you are 50 years old or older, if you are an African American 45 years old or older, if you have a family history of colon cancer or if you have symptoms then you need to have a colonoscopy. Symptoms include change in bowel movements, blood in stool, weight loss and abdominal pain or bloating. Specialists at Borland-Groover Clinic have the specialty training to perform colonoscopies and provide expert treatment for digestive disorders.
“Colon cancer isn’t just about the statistics,” says Jan Pratt, a ten-year colon cancer survivor, and the founder of March to Get Screened. “I was a member of the one percent club when I was diagnosed with colon cancer at the age of 35, but out of 149,000 new cases each year, there are more than 1,490 people younger than 40 who find out that they have colon cancer, just like I did,” she says. “If you are experiencing any unexplained digestive issues or even trace amounts of blood in your stool, it is vital to get screened. A colonoscopy can save your life; it saved mine!”
Mark your calendars for the March to Get Screened, March 4 at 1 p.m. Come out for a great cause. For more information, visit http://www.marchtogetscreened.com
