"KNOW YOUR A,B,C,C'S" CAMPAIGN LAUNCHED TO RAISE AWARENESS ABOUT THE LINK BETWEEN ULCERATIVE COLITIS, CROHN'S DISEASE AND COLORECTAL CANCER

NEW YORK, March 7 /PRNewswire/ -- THIS IS A MULTIVU SPECIAL REPORT. IN THE U.S. ONE HUNDRED AND FORTY SEVEN THOUSAND NEW CASES OF COLORECTAL CANCER ARE DIAGNOSED AND MORE THAN FIFTY SEVEN THOUSAND PEOPLE DIE FROM THE DISEASE ANNUALLY. THE CROHN'S & COLITIS FOUNDATION OF AMERICA IS RAISING AWARENESS ABOUT THE DISEASE THROUGH AN EDUCATIONAL CAMPAIGN CALLED "KNOW YOUR A-B-C-C'S." THE GOAL IS TO HIGHLIGHT THE INCREASED RISK OF COLORECTAL CANCER AMONG PATIENTS WITH CROHN'S DISEASE AND ULCERATIVE COLITIS, COLLECTIVELY KNOWN AS INFLAMMATORY BOWEL DISEASE.

ANNUAL SCREENINGS ALLOW FOR EARLY DETECTION, AND SOME EXPERTS SAY CERTAIN ANTI-INFLAMMATORY DRUGS LIKE ASACOL(R), PENTASA(R), AND AZULFIDINE(R) MAY LOWER THE RISK FOR DEVELOPING COLON CANCER.

DOCTOR DAVID RUBIN, ASSISTANT PROFESSOR OF MEDICINE, SECTION OF GASTROENTEROLOGY, UNIVERSITY OF CHICAGO:

"For the people who don't have Inflammatory Bowel disease, we recommend they start screening at age 50. But if you have chronic inflammation of your large bowel, Crohn's disease or ulcerative Colitis, you should be screened every 1-2 years once you've had those diseases for 8-10 years."

FOR MORE VISIT CCFA.ORG. I'M CHRISTIANE ARBESU.

AUDIO PROVIDED BY: The Crohn's & Colitis Foundation of America