Colon Cancer Alliance

March 27, 2010

The Undy 5000 Takes on St. Louis

St. Louis, MO (March 27, 2010) - The 2nd Annual St. Louis Undy 5000 5K took place on Saturday, March 27 at 9:00 AM at the Upper Muny Parking Lot in Forest Park. More than 1,200 adults and children participated in the event to help bring greater awareness to colon cancer, the 2nd leading cause of cancer death in the United States.

"St. Louis 2nd Annual Undy 5000 was a great success and we attribute much of the success to the amazing work of our CCA Gateway Chaper and our volunteers," said Andrew Spiegel, CEO of the Colon Cancer Alliance (CCA). "We raised more than $65,000 to help fund a wide variety of colorectal cancer programs and we look forward to further growing the event when we return to St. Louis in 2011."

The Undy 5000, created by the CCA, is designed to promote awareness and education about colon cancer, the second leading cause of cancer death in the United States. The event particularly stresses the importance of timely colon cancer screening, and also provides valuable information for those already affected by the disease.

The importance of getting screened early was never more apparent than it was for Dorothy McGrath, colon cancer survivor and member of the CCA Gateway Voices Chapter. "I went to see the doctor for my food allergies. He suggested I get a colonoscopy to rule out other GI issues, but since I wasn't having any symptoms and my blood work was good, I shouldn't worry that I had anything serious. After my colonoscopy, we found out that I had colon cancer that had spread to my liver. All was removed and I have been cancer free for over 5 years and I'm cancer free today," said Dorothy.

The Undy 5000 is held in different cities across the country throughout the year. The goal of the event is to educate the public about colon cancer, promote screenings, and get people talking about this deadly, but preventable, disease. This event also raises much needed funds to support and build the CCA's national and local patient support and innovative public awareness programs. A percentage of the local proceeds will benefit the Siteman Cancer Center.

Following the event, participants enjoyed products donated by vitaminwater. Siteman Cancer Center was the regional sponsor of this event. National sponsors of the series included Salix Pharmaceuticals, Amgen Oncology, the American Society of Colon and Rectal Surgeons, Ethicon, Bristol Myers Squibb and Genentech.

More information about the Undy 5000 and upcoming events can be found online at www.undy5000.org.

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The Colon Cancer Alliance (CCA) is a national patient advocacy organization dedicated to ending the suffering caused by colorectal cancer. In order to increase rates of screening and survivorship, CCA provides patient support, education, research and advocacy across North America.

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