Courtesy Photo
BALTIMORE — March is National Colorectal Cancer Awareness Month, and for the fifth year in a row, the Susan Cohan Colon Cancer Foundation (“Susie’s Cause”) and Bon Secours Baltimore Health System will mark the occasion with with a free outreach health festival on Saturday, March 10, from noon to 4 p.m., at Mondawmin Mall in Baltimore.
The festival, which hosted its largest-ever crowd of 2,027 people last year, provides the local community a free day of health education, with an emphasis on colorectal cancer screening and prevention. Recent data from the Maryland Department of Health indicates the need for these resources in Baltimore is still critical: while colorectal cancer incidence and mortality rates have continued to fall statewide in recent years, both rates remain significantly higher among the city’s African-American population.
Overall, colorectal cancer is the third most commonly diagnosed cancer that affects both men and women and the second leading cause of cancer death in the U.S.
This year’s festival offerings will include colon cancer education and screening resources, healthy lifestyle exhibits, free health screenings, a health care professional on site to answer questions, fitness demonstrations, children’s activities and giveaways. Local entertainers and groups performing live at the festival will include Sankofa Dance Theater, Song Stylist Larzine and the Washington Unity Choral Union.
Established in 2005 and headquartered in Baltimore, Md., the Susan Cohan Colon Cancer Foundation Inc. (“Susie’s Cause”) is a 501(c)(3) public charity dedicated to colon cancer prevention, education and research funding. In 2016, the American Society of Colon and Rectal Surgeons gave Susie’s Cause founder David Rodman Cohan its David Jagelman Award for Advocacy in Colorectal Cancer. To learn more about Susie’s Cause, visit coloncancerfoundation.org, or call 667-206-2907.