Giant Replica Promotes Disease Prevention
By Eric Schwartz, The Arizona Daily Star, Tucson
Feb. 25–What’s 8 feet tall, 20 feet long, and can help save your life?
It’s the Super Colon, an enormous inflated replica of a human colon that travels the country and will be in Tucson next Monday as part of National Colorectal Cancer Awareness Month.
A project of the Prevent Cancer Foundation, the Super Colon allows people to look closely at colorectal tissue that is healthy, as well as tissue that has different stages of cancer.
“It’s a good way to focus attention,” said Dr. Peter Lance, co-director of the Cancer Prevention and Control Program at the Arizona Cancer Center.
He said colon cancer is the second-most-common cause of cancer death in the developed world, behind lung cancer, despite being the most easily screened-for type, because people don’t get themselves screened for it enough.
“Those 50 and over should get screened,” he said. If caught early, colo- rectal cancer is treated successfully 90 percent of the time.
Tucson is the only stop in Arizona for the Super Colon on this tour, though it will be traveling to 50 cities this year.
If you go:
What: The Super Colon. Inflatable, walk-through colon to teach about the risks, symptoms, prevention, early detection and treatment options for colorectal cancer. Visitors can see healthy tissue, tissue with non-malignant colorectal diseases, as well as tissue with various stages of colorectal cancer.
Where: Arizona Cancer Center, Peter and Paula Fasseas Cancer Clinic at UMC North, 3838 N. Campbell Ave.
When: Monday, March 3, 8 a.m. to 4 p.m. “Ask the Doctor” session from 10:30 a.m. to noon.
Colorectal cancer
Colorectal cancer is the second-leading cancer killer in the United States for men and women combined. However, the disease is preventable, and if it’s detected early, it’s successfully treated 90 percent of the time.
Colorectal cancer affects men and women equally, as well as people of all races.
The best way to prevent it is through routine screening.
Screening for colorectal cancer saves lives in two ways: first, by finding polyps inside the colon and removing them before they become cancerous, and secondly, by finding colorectal cancer early, there is a 90 percent survival rate.
Source: Prevent Cancer Foundation
–Eric Schwartz is a NASA Space Grant intern at the Arizona Daily Star. He can be reached at eschwartz@azstarnet.com.
—–
To see more of The Arizona Daily Star, or to subscribe to the newspaper, go to http://www.azstarnet.com.
Copyright (c) 2008, The Arizona Daily Star, Tucson
Distributed by McClatchy-Tribune Information Services.
For reprints, email tmsreprints@permissionsgroup.com, call 800-374-7985 or 847-635-6550, send a fax to 847-635-6968, or write to The Permissions Group Inc., 1247 Milwaukee Ave., Suite 303, Glenview, IL 60025, USA.