After almost 14 years of walking a dog three times a day, walking 5K is a piece of cake. So earlier this month I laced up my walking shoes to do the 5K Push For Your Tush in Burlington, Ontario, raising money for Colon Cancer Canada (tagline: We’re behind your behind).
This was my second year doing this walk, which raises money to fund critical research into colon cancer, provides updated equipment for treating colon cancer and delivers financial help to patients. It also shines a light on the importance of screening, because this cancer is apparently 90% preventable if detected early.
I only wish my brother had been screened; Don died of colon cancer just over one year ago. That’s his photo on my t-shirt.
Celebrity spokespeople helping spread the word include hockey legend Darryl Sittler, who lost his wife Wendy to colon cancer, and CFL great and cancer survivor Lui Passaglia. Of course, most of the participants aren’t celebrities at all, just people like me who have lost a treasured someone to colon cancer.
With two locations left to do the run/walk, the nine others hosting Push For Your Tush this year have raised more than $450,000. The Burlington event contributed more than $25,000 of that. With the kind support of colleagues, friends and family, I raised $1,640, way more than the $250 I tentatively aimed for last year. From the bottom of my heart, thank you.
Doctors suggest you should get screened for colon cancer around age 50, earlier if there is a history in your family. But as with most cancers, age doesn’t necessarily have anything to do with it. The event I took part in began with a moving tribute by a man who just last year lost his wife to this disease, at the age of 31.
So watch for warning signs, like blood in your stool and unexplained weight loss. And please get screened, or talk to your doctor about when and how to do it.
Related reading:
Read about my brother in Life is short; get screened