If caught early, colon cancer is curable, yet many people don’t get screened. In recognition of colon cancer awareness month, U of T researchers are encouraging people to get screened by sharing a video featuring a colon cancer survivor.
“Fear was one of the biggest barriers cited. Fear of the test. Fear of the answer. Fear of dying,” says Dionne Gesink, Associate Professor in the Dalla Lana School of Public Health who asked Ontarians what stops them from getting screened for cancer. “As one participant said, ‘Anybody that I know that’s had it, has died from it.’”
Gesink's project is funded by Cancer Care Ontario, an arm of the Ontario government responsible for delivering cancer treatment and prevention programs in the province. The video is available on YouTube and is being shared directly with clinicians and organizations across Ontario for use with their patients and clients.
Dani says he survived colon cancer thanks to his boss urging him to get screened.
“If I’d waited until I had symptoms to get checked out, I wouldn’t be here right now,” he says
March is colon cancer awareness month. Approximately 23,000 Canadians will be diagnosed with colon cancer this year and about 9,000 will die from it.
The Portrait of a Colon Cancer Survivor can also be viewed at www.getscreened.ca.
