March is Colon Cancer Awareness Month: If You’re 50 or Older, Get Tested
You can beat Colon Cancer.
No one has to die from colon cancer, and it’s a fact that many Americans don’t realize. Colon cancer is one of the most preventable types of cancer. In fact, colon cancer rates have declined rapidly in both men and women in the past two decades due in part to early detection and removal of precancerous polyps.
Here’s what you need to know to arm yourself against this particular type of cancer.
If you are 50 or older, you’re at risk for colon cancer. You may have the disease and not know it – even if you don’t have a family history of colon cancer. But testing for colon cancer can save your life. And if your relatives have had colon cancer, testing is even more important because you’re at a greater risk of contracting the disease.
So this month – Colon Cancer Awareness Month – if you’re 50 or older AND/OR if you have a family history of colon cancer talk to your doctor about getting tested.
To learn more about colon cancer and to view our Colon Cancer PSA visit our web site, www.cancer.org.
Road To Recovery Driver Clive Cadle Receives Recognition from KFOR and SpiritBank
In January, KFOR Channel 4 in Oklahoma City and SpiritBank honored American Cancer Society volunteer Clive Cadle as its Pay It 4Ward recipient of the week for going above and beyond to help his community. Clive is a driver for the Road To Recovery program, which provides transportation to and from cancer-related appointments for patients in active treatment. The program seeks to provide transportation especially to those patients who wouldn’t be able to get to treatment otherwise.
Toni Henry, the Road To Recovery program coordinator in Oklahoma City, nominated Clive for recognition. ”I just know how much he means to our patients and to the American Cancer Society,” she said during an interview with KFOR.
SpiritBank presented Toni with $400 and asked her to “pay it forward” to Clive… and she did. He told her that the money was just coming back to the American Cancer Society. In speaking with KFOR about his relationship with his patients, Clive said, “If I can help these people, it makes me feel good.”
And it makes us feel good, too. Without volunteer drivers like Clive, the Road To Recovery program would not be able to provide more than 3,000 rides each year to cancer patients with no other transportation to their life-saving appointments.
If you are interested in giving someone the ride of their life, consider becoming a Road To Recovery volunteer. Volunteers are needed in the following locations:
- Ada
- Ardmore
- Bartlesville
- Enid
- Idabel
- Muskogee
- McAlester
- Oklahoma City
- Shawnee
- Stillwater
- Tulsa
For more information about becoming a volunteer driver contact Toni Henry in Western Oklahoma at toni.henry@cancer.org or 405.841.5825 or Kelly Rapp in Eastern Oklahoma at kelly.rapp@cancer.org or 918.477.5400.
Watch this video for the full story: KFOR Honors Clive Cadle
Welcome to the American Cancer Society Oklahoma blog!
Thanks for visiting acsoklahoma.org! Our blog will keep you informed about progress being made in the fight against cancer – in Oklahoma and across the country – and about ways you can be involved, personally, in eliminating this awful disease.
What will we post on our blog?
- Details about upcoming local events
- Research breakthroughs
- Inspirational stories about Oklahomans battling cancer
- Inspirational stories about Oklahoma volunteers dedicated to putting an end to cancer
- Early detection and cancer prevention information
- ACS in the news, and more!
If you haven’t already, we invite you to provide us with your email address so you can subscribe to our blog. You’ll enter your email in the box in the top right-hand area of this page. Once you subscribe, you’ll receive an email notice any time a new story is posted on the blog.
Again, thank you for visiting our blog, and thank you for supporting the fight against cancer in Oklahoma!
Regal Car Sales Donates Vehicle to the American Cancer Society
Last month, an American Cancer Society volunteer contacted Regal Car Sales and Credit in Tulsa to ask them about making a monetary donation to help replace a vehicle used for the American Cancer Society’s Road to Recovery program. Road to Recovery is a program that utilizes volunteer drivesr to transports cancer patients to and from cancer-related appointments.Regal’s owner, Bob Mulkey, instead decided to donate a car. Cancer Society staff were able to pick the vehicle of their choice from the Regal car lot, and Outlaw Kustomz Tint wrapped the car for free to promote the Road To Recovery program and the American Cancer Society while drivers and patients are out on the road.
Click here to see this American Cancer Society donation highlighted on the Channel 2 news.
Tulsa Resident Receives National Recognition for Lifesaving Work
Jean McGill is famous among the ranks of volunteers and staff at the American Cancer Society. Having dedicated nearly four decades serving as a volunteer in the fight against cancer, Jean has traveled the country and the world as a loyal ambassador for the Society. Her strength to take on the next challenge, whether it be reviewing the Society’s finances as Treasurer or talking to members of Congress about smoke-free legislation, comes from her own battle with breast cancer 35 years ago. “I hope to help people not ever get that diagnosis of cancer,” says Jean.
Having served in more than a dozen volunteer leadership roles, Jean was just recently given the title of Honorary Life Member of the National Assembly for the Society. This honor has only been given to a select few life-long volunteers who have rendered outstanding service in the fight against cancer.
One of Jean’s first endeavors was serving as a volunteer lobbyist to urge Congress to ban smoking in airplanes. Since that victory Jean has continued to be an advocate for smoke-free places. When she was asked to represent the organization inEuropeshe discovered that cigarettes were handed out for free in order to hook more smokers. “I realized then how important it was to spread awareness about the deadly effects of tobacco,” says Jean.
As a cancer survivor for more than 30 years, Jean also volunteers with the Society’s Reach to Recovery program to meet with newly diagnosed breast cancer patients. “It is a true joy to meet with someone who has just been diagnosed with cancer and to see their face when you tell them that it can be beat and that they will get through it,” says Jean. She has also held leadership positions that enabled her to see how comprehensive cancer centers were working to assist patients and invest in research to save more lives from the disease.
For three years Jean served as the National Treasurer for the Society making sure the organization was utilizing donations effectively. She was actively involved in starting the Society’s signature event, Relay For Life, to raise funds and bring communities together to fight cancer. “I think Relay is a great event to inspire people to get involved with our mission,” she says.
In addition to this most recent honor, Jean received the Society’s prestigious St. George Medal and the Lifetime Excalibur Award for outstanding contributions to cancer control in 1998. In 2005 she was given a National Leadership award followed by a Lifetime Achievement award in 2008.
“The American Cancer Society is grateful to Jean for her tireless support,” stated Mike Dany, CEO of the Society’s High Plains Division serving a multi-state area that includes Kansas, Hawaii, Missouri, Nebraska, Oklahoma, and Texas. “Our organization depends on volunteer leadership, and Jean is exemplary. Her guidance and commitment have served not only our community and Division, but our entire organization.”
With no plans to slow down, Jean plans to continue working for the organization wherever she is needed. “A lot has happened during my time,” she says. “We now have better treatments, less people are smoking, and people are living healthy lifestyles. But there is still more that we can do.”
