The Colon Club adds a blue star to the pink ribbon this October

Oct. 8, 2012 - PRLog -- WILTON, N.Y. – Oct. 8, 2012 – In the midst of October’s breast cancer awareness, The Colon Club released the 2013 Colondar in hopes of saving more lives from cancer death. The calendar features 12 men and women diagnosed with colon or rectal cancer under the traditional age of 50.

“October is when many patients stop to evaluate their family history and cancer risk due to breast cancer awareness efforts,” said Krista Waller, president of The Colon Club. “We wanted to send a reminder that a colonoscopy for colon cancer screening is just as important as a mammogram for breast cancer screening.”

Most common U.S. cancers
According to the National Cancer Institute, colorectal cancer is estimated to be the second-leading cause of cancer death (of men and women) in the United States in 2012 – second only to lung cancer. While breast cancer is estimated to have the highest number of new cases among women in the U.S. this year, colorectal cancer is projected to claim more lives.

“Colon cancer is preventable with a colonoscopy,” said Waller. “It is important that it be scheduled along with the mammogram.”

Young survivors’ stories save lives
For the 2013 Colondar, survivors from coast to coast revealed their scars and shared their stories to put a face on the growing population of young colorectal cancer patients. Each model was diagnosed with colon or rectal cancer much younger than age 50 – the age many physicians begin recommending colonoscopies and many insurance companies cover testing.

About The Colondar
The 2013 Colondar is the ninth calendar produced by the The Colon Club. The Colondar has won several design awards and is respected throughout the colon cancer community and beyond. The 2013 Colondar is sponsored by many colon cancer non-profits, businesses and organizations committed to raising awareness of the importance of colon cancer screening. Dedicated to stage IV survivor Erika Bilger diagnosed at age 22, the Colondar furthers her mission to connect young survivors with one another and share a message of hope.

About the Colon Club
The Colon Club is a nonprofit founded in 2003 by Molly McMaster, a colon cancer survivor diagnosed on her 23rd birthday, and Hannah Vogler, a cousin of the late Amanda Sherwood Roberts who died of the disease at age 27. The Colon Club serves to educate as many people as possible and as early as possible about colorectal cancer in interesting and out-of-the-box ways. The Colon Club is the manager of “Coco,” the Colossal Colon (a 40-foot-long, 4-foot-tall crawl-through of the human colon), as well as an active online message board for young patients and caregivers impacted by colorectal cancer.

For More Information
Please visit to read each model’s story and http://www.colonclub.com/media-room for a downloadable fact sheet and information about each of the 2013 models and sponsors.
To request hi-resolution photographs or to set up interviews with models, please contact Danielle Burgess via (816) 729-7760.
The 2013 Colondar costs $10 and is available for purchase at http://www.colonclub.com/the-2013-colondar/