Thank You for Supporting Susie's Cause and Honoring Loved Ones

Memorial Day is a time to enjoy having fun with family and friends. Thank you for being a friend to Susie's Cause and for helping us spread awareness about life-saving colon cancer screening and prevention.

Just in case you haven't heard them all, we want to share with you some of the great ways our supporters have given their time and money to support Susie's Cause in 2012. It's inspiring to see all the ideas everyone came up with to get out the word about preventing colon cancer with screenings and a healthy lifestyle.

So many of you:

• held galas
• volunteered
• cooked chili
• ran and walked in races
• grew mustaches and beards
• paddled canoes
• ice skated
• shared your stories
• contributed articles
• hosted dinners and dances
• lifted weight
• donated money

You all contributed in so many ways that you really made it clear - no matter what you are interested in, you can use your skills, hobbies, and talents to help fight to eliminate colon cancer as a
life-threatening disease.

Were any of these ideas from your event? Do you have other ideas for events?

Share them with us!

Your grassroots events are a great way to honor and remember family members as well as support Susie's Cause. Is there something you would like to do to support Susie's Cause in 2013?
If so, please contact us at (410) 244-1778.

 

Female Smokers May be at Greater Risk for Colon Cancer

Still haven’t kicked the nicotine habit? Here’s another reason to put down the cigarettes for good, especially if you are a woman: female smokers may be more susceptible to colon cancer than male smokers, according to a study published in Cancer Epidemiology, Biomarkers & Prevention on April 30.

The study included more than 600,000 men and women who were aged 19 to 67 when they enrolled in the study. Over 14 years, almost 4,000 people in the study developed colon cancer.

Women who had ever smoked had a 19% higher risk of colon cancer and men who had ever smoked had an 8% increased risk of developing the disease than those who have never smoked.

Read More>

Charlotte's Story - Cancer was not in this Mom's Plans

On September 14, 2011, at the age of 35, I  was diagnosed with stage 3 colon cancer. At the time of my diagnosis, my son Jack had just turned 4, my daughter Eleanor was 10 months old and my husband Rick and I had recently celebrated our six-year wedding anniversary. The surgery to remove the tumor that penetrated my colon wall occurred on October 7, 2011 and chemotherapy began right after Thanksgiving. It took a little over seven months to complete my 12 rounds of chemo. I completed the last round on July 17, 2012. All these dates will forever be a part of me and as memorable as the dates of my children's births and my wedding anniversary. 

But I have children.

From the moment I was told the results of my colonoscopy on September 14th, my thoughts went immediately to my children. In fact, when my GI doctor told me what he saw in my colon my response was, "But I have children."

My friends, neighbors and co-workers many times remarked  how hard it must be to have two small children to take care of while going through chemo. Honestly, I don't think I could have done it without them. They made me laugh, they distracted me, they kept me on track with the normal every-day happenings of life. They loved me and I fiercely loved them back. What more did I need, really?

In fact, without the birth of Eleanor, I may have ignored my symptoms. Eleanor was a big baby (almost 9 lbs). I attributed her  size and position as the cause of the blood in my stool.  After Eleanor's birth, the blood didn't go away. I attributed it to post-pregnancy issues.

I didn't have any pain.

When the symptoms didn't go away but started to get worse, I went to see my GI doctor. In April of 2011, I was  examined and it turned out I had hemorrhoids. I remember thinking that made sense because so many women have hemorrhoids post-pregnancy. But I thought it strange that I didn't have any pain. It was the absence of pain that kept me from seeking medical help. 

I didn't call my GI doctor.

When the hemorrhoid medicine didn't treat my symptoms, I didn't call my GI doctor to tell him because I figured that this was just normal for my body. I otherwise felt great and happily went along for a few more months until the GI symptoms became stranger and more worrisome - and yet I still had no pain.

In September of 2011, I finally went back to my GI doctor who immediately ordered a colonoscopy. My doctor said as soon as he inserted the scope, the tumor was right there - in the sigmoid colon. The sigmoid colon links the descending colon with the rectum. Since the tumor had penetrated the colon wall and positive lymph nodes were removed during surgery, chemo was inevitable and in my opinion, welcome. I wanted my body rid of all traces of cancer.

Cancer Free!

I am now a year and a half cancer free and feel like I am in the best shape of my life! Having been diagnosed with the deadly disease opened my eyes to the very real fact that I only get one chance to live. I only get this one body for this one life and I should take care of it the best way possible.

As soon as I regained my strength after finishing chemo, I went back to the gym. I proudly walked with my family in the Susan Cohan 8th Annual 5k Run and Family Walk in September of 2012. Currently I am in a running group with other survivors called Cancer to 5K with the Ulman Cancer Fund which will end with my running a 5k in June. I am also training for an Olympic Triathlon to be held in October of 2013. These are things I never would have dreamed of doing, but now I just can't wait to see what my body is capable of!

Memories Gala 2013 Highlights

Donated by Marie Cardona

What’s not to love about the Fifth Annual Susie’s Cause National Colon Cancer Screening Month dinner dance at Martin's Valley Mansion!

Colon cancer survivors and several hundred guests networked, danced, bid on silent auction items, and sampled lots of delicious buffet items  to support this important annual Susie’s Cause fundraiser.

The Cohan family created the National Colon Cancer Foundation to honor the wishes of their beloved daughter Susan who was stricken by this terrible disease. It is always so inspiring to hear Foundation President David R. Cohan and his dedicated family members speak about their passion to get the word out to as many people as possible about the importance of screening and prevention.

Donated by Marie Cardona

Shout Out to Marie Cardona

The Cohan story resonates with so many brave men and women who have been touched by colon cancer or have a loved one who has.  Folks like Marie Cardona, whose mom died of colon cancer, is now the West Coast affiliate founder. In addition to hosting fundraisers on the West coast, this year Marie provided several of her beautiful photographs for the silent auction.

Click Shop to browse Marie's photographs

Read more on Memories Gala Highlights


If you would be interested in hosting a gala in your city, please contact Foundation Director and Event Planner Kim Cohan at kim@coloncancerfoundation.org or 410.244.1778