Thank you to #CGAIGC committee members, leaders & the wider #HereditaryGICancer community for their contribution to the 2024 #ColorectalCancerAwarenessMonth!
This March we teamed up with Fight CRC to highlight and raise awareness of early onset colorectal cancer (#eoCRC). AliveandKickn also ramped up awareness leading up to #LynchSyndromeAwarenessDay. Both of these organizations work tirelessly to support patients and their families. Take the time to learn more about their activities and initiatives.
1 - 31 March / In a joint effort to address the rising prevalence of early-onset colorectal cancer, we were thrilled to unite with Fight CRC during #ColorectalCancerAwarenessMonth. Our president Bryson Katona, MD, PhD, participated in the United in Blue Rally on March 12. Learn more about his thoughts about the event HERE.
Fight CRC also created a 1-minute colorectal cancer screening quiz for individuals to learn more about their risk and how to start a conversation with their doctor. We urge the primary care healthcare team and others to invite their patients to take this quiz and share the results with them. In addition, patients should know their family's cancer history and share this with the healthcare team. Prevention and early detection saves lives!
March 1 / #ColorectalCancerAwarenessMonth kicked off in a fun way with #DressInBlueDay! There were many tweets with fabulous photos of our members and others from all over dressed in blue showing their support, including making it a #StrongArmSelfie at the same time! See a few of them here
With every #StrongArmSelfie that was posted, $1 was donated to the fight and support for colorectal cancer survivors and their families. See some of the #StrongArmSelfie from our members!
March 5 / One year on from the release of the #DIRECt guidelines and Alessandro Mannucci shared an insightful blog post “Understanding Early Onset Colorectal Cancer: Challenges and Strategies.” about what has been achieved and what is next on the agenda.
We recorded an interview in 2023 with Swati G. Patel and lead authors Giulia Martina Cavestro and Alessandro Mannucci, both from the University Vita Salute San Raffaele Hospital Milan, Italy. The guidelines published in the same year represent a useful tool for clinicians caring for patients with eoCRC.
March 6 / If you missed our live webinar "Building Trust and Resources in Colorectal Cancer Research: Strategies for Community Engagement, Biospecimen Collection, and Addressing Disparities,” and you are a CGA-IGC member, you can watch it on our dedicated member portal on-demand. Not a member? Join HERE
Read the blog post by our Communications Committee member, Ophir Gilad, MD.
March 9-22 / We invited our members to join the cause by displaying blue flags in their front yards, extending the awareness campaign to local communities. Our CGA-IGC Communication Committee member, Michelle Springer raised awareness in her community and shared a photo of her yard with the blue flags!
March 11 / The Lynch Syndrome Symposium organized by our president Bryson Katona, MD, PhD Penn Medicine School of Medicine took place on March 11, 2024 and attracted 500 participants both online and in-person.
March 22 / We were delighted to share a number of resources and initiatives on #LynchSyndromeAwarenessDay including:
A video by Laura Valle summarizing carcinogenesis in Lynch Syndrome and differences in MMR genes. Don’t miss the opportunity to learn from an expert!
The Hereditary Cancer Program, CU Division of Gastroenterology and Hepatology at the University of Colorado Anschutz Medical Campus, generously shared a valuable patient resource with us. They have taken a practical approach to the 30g of resistance starch and developed a resource highlighting the foods highest in fiber and included handy meal plans that will make it a breeze for high risk patients (& everyone!) to incorporate more fiber into their diet. An extremely useful resource for your daily practice - read it HERE.
The release of our first podcast of the year - Constitutional MLH1 Promoter Hypermethylation. Megan Hoenig from the Mayo Clinic, Rochester, MN, USA provided some background information about Constitutional MLH1 Promoter Hypermethylation and why it is a cause of Lynch Syndrome, and that it’s probably more common than we know. If you missed Megan’s presentation at #CGAIGC23, now is your opportunity to catch up.
AliveAndKickn’s social media toolkit helped bring awareness to others about #LynchSyndrome. AliveAndKickn created different social media post options for others to share from their own account. See what other resources they have.
While #LynchSyndromeAwarenessDay is over there are some exciting Lynch Syndrome related events taking place in April.
PennMedicine is organizing a webinar on “#Gynecologic care in #LynchSyndrome: Considerations throughout life” which will take place on Wednesday, April 3, at 5:30 pm ET. To learn more and access the Zoom link.
Memorial Sloan Kettering Cancer Center is organizing their 13th Annual #LynchSyndrome Educational Workshop taking place on April 9, from 6:30 to 8:30 PM ET. You can register here.
Our "In case you missed it!" You may have missed some of these resources from 2023!
Our council members have participated in podcasts and interviews sharing their knowledge and insight. Our president Bryson W. Katona recently participated in a podcast Improving Detection of Lynch Syndrome: Key Strategies. CGA-IGC treasurer Michael F. Hall discussing Lynch syndrome, what cancers patients would be more at risk for, and who should get tested.
Does starch prevent cancer in patients with lynch syndrome by a mechanism that might be applicable to the general population? You can find out by listening to our 2023 interview with Swati G. Patel and Sir John Burn where he shares the outcome of the study Cancer Prevention with Resistant Starch in Lynch Syndrome Patients in the CAPP2-Randomized Placebo-Controlled Trial: Planned 10-Year Follow-up. You don’t want to miss this podcast, it was the highest rated podcast in 2023!
In 2023, the NCCN made a significant change to the testing criteria for Lynch syndrome. We provided an update during the 2023 #LynchSyndromeAwarenessDay. Did you miss it? Read it HERE and listen to Heather Hampel explain what the changes to the guidelines means to healthcare team caring for patients and their families with #LynchSyndrome.
If you missed our joint webinar with the ACG on the occasion of 2023 #LynchSyndromeAwareness with Peter Stanich & Heather Hampel, who spoke about "Historical and current approaches to identifying individuals with Lynch Syndrome". You can read the webinar summary written by our Communication committee members. This webinar is available on-demand to our members. If you're not a member, we invite you to sign up here.
March 25 / We launched our #eoCRC toolkit during the 2023 #ColorectalCancerAwarenessMonth! This toolkit provides educational and clinical practice resources to improve early detection and management of eoCRC and our Education Committee has reviewed the toolkit and added some exciting new resources. See what some of our added resources are here.
The mission of CGA-IGC is to serve as a resource for its members and the wider #HereditaryGICommunity. Knowledge empowers both patients and health professionals alike. When individuals are well-informed, they can make better decisions about their health, understand treatment options, and actively participate in their own care. For healthcare providers, staying up-to-date with the latest research and best practices ensures they can offer the highest quality of care to their patients.