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Dairy Farmers Team up with the Canadian Colorectal Association of Canada

The Dairy Farmers of Canada have teamed up with the  Colorectal  Cancer Association of Canada (CCAC) to promote healthy balanced diets with their new “Get Enough” App.  The really outstanding new is that when you download this app and begin to use it the Dairy Farmers will contribute $1.00 to  Colorectal  Cancer Association of Canada every day you utilize the app. What have you got to loose; it is a tremendous way for you to stay healthy and help you make sure you are eating the right foods while at the same time giving back to a very important cause.

For more information on the program go to GET ENOUGH and start using the app today.

Quote from the GET ENOUGH Website

Colorectal cancer is the third most commonly diagnosed cancer and the second most common cause of cancer death in Canada. Colorectal cancer is also one of the most preventable types of cancer.

According to the World Cancer Research Fund, the key factors in preventing colorectal cancer are leading an active life, eating well, cutting down on alcohol, and not smoking.

Whole grains, pulses, vegetables, and fruits contain fibre, which keeps your digestive system running smoothly. Experts also recommend limiting your intake of processed meats as these have been shown to increase the risk of colorectal cancer.

A balanced diet composed of a variety of nutritious foods is an important part of maintaining good health. Canada’s Food Guide recommends an intake of 2-4 servings of Milk & Alternatives, including 500 ml of milk each day. 

WHO Cancer Report

In October 2015, the World Heath Organization released a report from the International Agency for Research on Cancer (IARC) relating to processed meat and colorectal cancer. As experts weigh in on these warnings on processed meat, we thought this article from Independent out of the UK provided some helpful guidelines for reducing your risk of cancer:

  1.  Stop smoking.
  2. Avoid the sun.
  3. A diet that is low in red meat.
  4. Foods high in fibre.
  5. Two servings of fruit and three servings of vegetables a day.
  6. Obesity and being overweight.

Check out the full list on www.independent.co.uk.

Oh… and don’t forget to get screened for early detection and prevention of Colon Cancer.

Not Knowing is Not the Answer

“The National Cancer Institute of Canada (NCIC) acknowledges colorectal cancer as the third most common cancer and the second most common cause of death from a cancer among men and women in Canada, second only to lung cancer. If, however, the cancer is detected early through screening, it may be highly treatable and need not be deadly. In a majority of cases, colorectal cancer is preventable and yet each year in Canada, thousands of people are diagnosed with advanced colorectal cancer.”

The Colorectal Cancer Association of Cancer has put together an in-depth page listing the different types of screening for colorectal cancer including:

  1. Guaiac Fecal Occult Blood Test (gFOBT)
  2. Fecal Immunochemical Test (FIT or iFOBT)
  3. Flexible Sigmoidoscopy
  4. Colonoscopy
  5. CT Colonography (Virtual Colonoscopy)
  6. Stool DNA Test (sDNA) or Fecal DNA Testing

Each one is described in detail on their “Screening & Diagnostics: A guide to screening tests” page. Check it out!

Photo of Colorectal Cancer Association Transit Advertising from 2011.

Great Marketing. Important Message.

As we continue on this quest of bringing awareness to colon cancer as the second leading cause of both male and female cancer-related deaths in Canada, and the recognition that with early detection and treatment over 90% of these cancer-related deaths could and should have resulted in a full recovery, we have also been looking to like-minded organizations for inspiration.

no-one-wants-to-see-this-merediths-miracles-colon-cancer-foundationOne such organization is a non-profit out of the United States, Meredith’s Miracles, which we discovered when we found this hilarious transit campaign.

Would this get your attention…?

I think so! But it’s the message underneath that is really important:

“NO ONE WANTS TO SEE THIS EXCEPT FOR YOUR DOCTOR.

Colon cancer is the second most deadly cancer. But, detected early, it’s also one of the most treatable.”

Well done, Meredith’s Miracles.

Colon Cancer continues to ignore age boundaries.

The world has lost another young man to Colon cancer. Today the Globe & Mail covered the story of Matthew Wuest, the founder of popular hockey site CapGeek.com. Based in Nova Scotia, Wuest quietly built up an audience for what many perceived as the MOST important online resource in hockey.

CPT115_HKN_OBIT_Matthew_Wuest_20150320“Matthew Wuest brought the NHL’s complex salary-cap system to the masses through his wildly popular and influential website CapGeek. And he did it on his own, often from a laptop at his kitchen table in Halifax.

Wuest’s creation was the go-to source for salary and contract information for everyone interested in hockey. When he shut it down in January, fans and NHL insiders shared in the disappointment, not realizing that Wuest was battling colon cancer.

Wuest died Thursday at the age of 35.” –read the full story at GlobeandMail.com

It is time to stop considering colon cancer an “old person’s disease” and make screening more accessible to everyone young and old.  After all, “Not Knowing is Not the Answer.