FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE: February 19, 2014

Contact: Kelly Sittig Iowa Cancer Consortium O: (319) 335-8816 C: (319) 321-9390 [email protected] www.facebook.com/IowaCancerConsortium www.twitter.com/CancerIowa

March is Colorectal Cancer Awareness Month Partners distribute messages, plan events

March is National Colorectal Cancer Awareness Month, and Iowa’s cancer control partners including the Iowa Cancer Consortium, the American Cancer Society, the Iowa Department of Public Health, and the Colon Cancer Foundation of Iowa are working together to make it easier for their partners and the public to raise awareness of this preventable disease.

These organizations and other contributors are jointly releasing pre-written awareness messages and images that can be used on social media, in newsletters, and on websites to share accurate and important information about colorectal cancer. The messages are appropriate for individual, business, and organizational social media accounts and other forms of communication, and are downloadable in a Word document so that individual pieces can be copied and pasted directly into various communications tools. Facebook- and Twitter-ready images are also downloadable through the message sets. The messages are available to anyone and may be shared freely. Download a copy of the messages http://bit.ly/MarCoordinatedMssgs14. Events are also planned to encourage Iowans to raise awareness of colorectal cancer:  March 7th is National Dress in Blue Day. The public is invited to wear blue to help raise awareness of colorectal cancer.  Governor Terry E. Branstad will proclaim March to be Colorectal Cancer Awareness Month in Iowa at 2:40 p.m. on March 13th in the Governor’s office at the State Capitol. About 650 Iowans die each year as a result of colorectal cancer, yet the disease can usually be prevented if precancerous polyps are found and removed through screening. The National Colorectal Cancer Roundtable, co-founded by the American Cancer Society and the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, has committed to eliminating colorectal cancer as a major public health problem and is working toward the shared goal of reaching 80% of adults aged 50 and older screened for colorectal cancer by 2018. More information about colorectal cancer prevention, screening, and treatment is available at http://www.idph.state.ia.us/IGS/Promotion.aspx .

ABOUT THE IOWA CANCER CONSORTIUM The Iowa Cancer Consortium (ICC) is a non-profit organization that coordinates the efforts of hundreds of individuals and organizations who work together to reduce the burden of cancer in Iowa. Formed in 2001, the ICC developed a comprehensive state-wide plan, which includes strategies designed to improve disease prevention, early detection, treatment, survivorship, and quality of life for Iowans affected by cancer. More information about the ICC and its partners and programs is available online at www.CancerIowa.org. Follow the ICC at www.Facebook.com/IowaCancerConsortium, or on Twitter at @CancerIowa. ###