American Cancer Society Unveils"Polypman"

Ads targeted for National Colorectal Cancer Awareness Month in March

It’s only March, but a man in a big red suit will be soon be seen around town. But there won’t be a sleigh or a reindeer in sight as the American Cancer Society unveils its newest weapon in the fight against colon cancer - “Polyp Man.”

Polyp Man is the villain in the American Cancer Society’s public service TV, radio and print ad campaign for National Colorectal Cancer Awareness Month in March. Dressed in red tights and a conspicuous red suit, Polyp Man runs from “police” doctors, raids refrigerators for unhealthy, fatty foods and ends up in a police lineup like any other criminal.

“Polyp Man is a humorous way to get people talking about their colons. He is a nuisance and if you don’t catch him early, he’ll develop into colon cancer,” said Anne LaSalle, Suffolk County Regional Executive, American Cancer Society. “Yet our goal is very serious. We hope to get through some of the barriers to getting tested for colon cancer – denial, perceived discomfort and more often than not, the embarrassment.”

The American Cancer Society wants all adults over 50 to get tested for colon cancer, but only 44 percent do. About half of all colon cancer deaths can be detected if polyps are found early when they are benign.

The Society’s ad campaign is expected to appear in hundreds of media outlets across the county. The voice-overs done by Tim Allen in the ads say, “Colon cancer almost always starts with a polyp. Get the polyp early and stop colon cancer before it even starts.” The tag line for the Society’s ads says, “Get the test. Get the polyp. Get the cure.”

Colon cancer is the second leading cause of cancer death in the United States and will claim nearly 57,000 American lives this year. In New York, 10,400 people will be diagnosed with colon cancer this year, and 4,000 will die.

“Colon cancer is killing people because they aren’t getting screened,” said Dee McCabe, Nassau County Regional Executive, American Cancer Society. “Polyp Man may seem like an unorthodox approach, but if injecting a little humor into the discussion helps eliminate the taboo associated with talking about our colons and this disease, it may be just what the doctor ordered.”

People whose colon cancers are found early through testing have a 90 percent survival rate while those whose cancer are found at a late stage have survival rates of less than 10 percent. Currently, only 37 percent of colon cancer cases are diagnosed at the early stage.

“We can see parallels between colon cancer testing now and where Pap testing was 60 years ago,” said Dr. Paul Hyman, MD, Chief Medical Spokesperson for the Eastern Division of the American Cancer Society. “Once Pap testing became widely accepted, the beneficial results in preventing cervical cancers were clearly evident. We could expect the same widespread prevention success with colon cancer if doctors openly discuss the subject with their patients and urge them to get the recommended test.”

To view Polyp Man, visit the following website: http://63.150.180.215/coloncancer/.

The American Cancer Society is the nationwide, community-based, voluntary health organization dedicated to eliminating cancer as a major health problem by preventing cancer, saving lives and diminishing suffering from cancer through research, education, advocacy and patient and family services. For more information, call the American Cancer Society at 1-800-ACS-2345 or visit www.cancer.org.

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www.cancer.org