Penn State students in the College of Communications have partnered with the National Colorectal Cancer Roundtable (NCCRT) this semester to spread awareness about colon cancer and the importance of screening for earlier diagnosis.
The campaign -- called "Dear Mom and Dad: Let the Doctor Take a Look!" -- spreads awareness through an e-mail students can send to their parents, grandparents and friends about the importance of early screening for colon cancer, Jessica White, member of the campaign, said.
Colon cancer is the second-leading cause of cancer-related deaths, largely because people do not know that an early screening test could help prevent the disease from ever forming, according to the NCCRT.
Beth Collitt, marketing manager of University Health Services (UHS), describes colon cancer as an abnormal cell growth in the colon that can form non-cancerous polyps, which over time can develop into cancer. Though there is a genetic component to the disease, lack of exercise, poor diet, smoking and alcohol consumption all increase a person's risk, Collitt said.
White said there are currently four students organizing the "Let the Doctor Take Look!" campaign, which seeks to include all Penn State students in spreading the message that colon cancer is preventable, treatable and beatable. "Colon cancer can occur at any age, but is much more common in later life. After 50 is the age for most individuals, but it can be earlier if there is a family history of colon cancer," Evan Pattishall, clinical director of UHS, said
Detection is done through a colonoscopy, in which a person is sedated in an outpatient facility and there is a visual inspection of the colon by using a scope, Pattishall said.
This is the first time Penn State students in the College of Communications have worked with the NCCRT. Each semester, students are required to work with an organization to support a cause they are passionate about. This semester, the effort is being coordinated through COMM473 (Public Relations Campaigns), Renea Nichols, advertising professor faculty adviser for the campaign, said.
The first part of the "Let the Doctor Take a Look!" campaign involved passing out the symbol -- a blue star -- to local doctor's offices, bingo halls and churches in hopes of spreading the word. The students also organized a bag lunch this month with a local doctor and Penn State faculty member who has recently been diagnosed with colon cancer, Nichols said.
She said the professor has been an inspiration for the campaign, giving his students the assignment of calling home to share with their parents the importance of colon cancer screenings. If all Penn State students reached out to their parents, they would be able to touch a lot of people with life-saving news, White said.
College of Communication students have been working on this campaign since March, Nichols said.
"The second phase of the campaign is to target the students and have them send these important e-mails" said Nichols.
She said it is important to become educated on this issue now, no matter how embarrassing it may be for an individual to have a doctor exam the area down 'there.' "People tend to avoid it because they are embarrassed but do you want to be embarrassed or [do you want to be] dead?" she said.
Students can visit the facebook.com event "Dear Mom and Dad: Let the Doctor Take a Look!" for more details on how to participate and help make this disease become more known.
