FOX44NOW.COM - Burlington/Plattsburgh News, Weather and SportsGet Your Rear In Gear 5k Helps Fight Colon Cancer

Get Your Rear In Gear 5k Helps Fight Colon Cancer

About 300 people set out on the "Get Your Rear in Gear 5k" with a mission to spread awareness about colon cancer on Sunday.

"It's the second leading cause of cancer deaths in this country," Dr. Cory Halliburton said.

Halliburton said colon cancer is a lot more common than people realize. The event is held annually in Colchester, Vt. to raise money and awareness about the disease. This year Lori Brunelle's team was missing a member.

"He recently passed on March 12 of this year," Brunelle said.

Brunelle came to the 5k in memory of her friend Paul, who she said was like a brother. She said he was only in his forties when he died from colon cancer, which is younger than the recommended screening age of 50. She would like to see more insurance companies pay for preventative cancer screenings, which she said would make it more affordable for people.

"They really need to start looking into paying for this stuff ahead of time, nobody is too young for cancer," Brunelle said.

Halliburton said if colon cancer is caught early it is highly treatable. "You can catch it at a pre-cancer stage what we call polyps. We can remove those and actually prevent the onset of colon cancer in many people," Halliburton said.

He said people don't show symptoms until the disease is at a very advanced stage. Halliburton said if a family member has had colon cancer it's better to get screened earlier.

"If there is someone in the family that has colon polyps or colon cancer then the initial screening age is at 40 actually," Halliburton said.

The money raised will help fight colorectal cancer in Vermont, but organizers said it will be a few days before they have a total number. Last year $7,000 was raised.

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