To kick off Colon Cancer Awareness Month in March, ColonoscopyAssist, a colon cancer screening program based in DFW has partnered with thirteen iconic Dallas skyscrapers to turn the Dallas Skyline Blue for a week. The mayors of Plano and Irving, TX have also signed in to effect, proclamations declaring March 2019 as Colon Cancer Awareness month to go along with the event.
Dedicated to making colorectal cancer screenings affordable for the uninsured, ColonoscopyAssist has coordinated this effort as a way to bring attention to the nation’s second leading cause of cancer death. Each year, the nationwide program helps thousands of uninsured Americans afford their colonoscopy by offering discounted flat rates for the procedure in over 30 states.
The lighting event will take place Sunday, March 3 through Sunday, March 10. The thirteen buildings that have committed to turn their exterior lights blue every night for the duration of the week include :
- Thanksgiving Tower 1601 Elm St., Dallas, TX, 75201
- Hunt Oil Building 1900 North Akard St., Dallas, TX, 75201
- Bank of America Plaza 901 Main St., Dallas, TX, 75202
- The Joule Hotel 1530 Main St., Dallas, TX, 75201
- One Arts Plaza 1722 Routh St., Dallas, TX, 75201
- One Uptown 2619 McKinney Ave., Dallas, TX, 75204
- 17Seventeen McKinney 1717 McKinney Ave, Dallas, TX 75202
- SkyHouse Dallas 2320 N. Houston St., Dallas, TX, 75291
- The Davis 1309 Main St., Dallas, TX, 75202
- Whitacre Tower 208 S. Akard St., Dallas, TX, 75202
- The Lorenzo Hotel 1011 S. Akard St., Dallas, TX, 75215
- Chase Tower 2200 Ross Ave., Dallas, TX, 75201
- The Centrum 3102 Oak Lawn Ave. Dallas, TX, 75219
These buildings along the Dallas skyline, lit up in blue, will show support for Colon Cancer Awareness Month and raise awareness for people to get early screenings. As part of a larger coordinated effort by the Colon Cancer Coalition, other skylines, throughout the state of Texas will also be illuminating blue during the same week. The lighting will coincide with the launch of a social media campaign #BlueforCRC. The following organizations are doing the same in four other Texas cities :
1. Baylor College of Medicine (Houston, TX)
2. Health Department of Wichita Falls, TX (Wichita Falls, TX)
3. UT Health Southwestern (San Antonio, TX)
4. Kiel Colon Cancer Foundation (Austin, TX)
“We have always looked for innovative ways such as these to increase CRC screening rates” says Chelsea Moran, outreach & education coordinator at the ColonoscopyAssist program. ”We were the first organization to offer a nationwide flat rate for colonoscopy. Nine years later, we are still one of the only organizations in the country that offers a nationwide, flat, affordable rate for the uninsured. It has allowed us to help thousands of uninsured individuals on a budget to get screened. They no longer delay their screenings due to financial reasons.”
Plano Mayor Henry LaRosiliere said “The City of Plano supports healthy lifestyles so that our citizens can enjoy a high quality of life. We were pleased to join our other cities in the metroplex to help raise awareness about access to affordable screenings by declaring March 2019 as Colon Cancer Awareness Month.”
ColonoscopyAssist is a nationwide social program based in Farmers Branch, TX dedicated to creating a more affordable and accessible way for individuals to get their colon cancer screenings. Founded in 2010, ColonoscopyAssist has been finding new ways to remove financial barriers to colon cancer screening while bringing awareness and education to the importance of getting screened.
