Rep. Jamie Raskin speaks out on colorectal cancer screening guidelines

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
Contact: Lisa Berry Edwards
703-519-2107
Lisa.Edwards@preventcancer.org

Alexandria, VA—Rep. Jamie Raskin (D-Md.), in partnership with the Prevent Cancer Foundation, is sharing his personal cancer story in support of new cancer screening guidelines.

In a video released in March 2021 for National Colorectal Cancer Awareness Month, Raskin talks about how he was impacted by a colorectal cancer diagnosis when he was just 45.

“Everything was going great for me, and then suddenly I was off to…the land of the sick,” Raskin said of his stage 3 diagnosis. “I’m just glad that it was caught when it was…and I’ve been a survivor now for almost 10 years.”

Raskin recorded the video in support of the draft guidelines released in October 2020 from the U.S. Preventive Services Task Force (USPSTF), which gives a “B” recommendation for colorectal cancer screening for people of average risk ages 45-49. There was previously no recommendation for this age group (the USPSTF maintains an “A” recommendation for people ages 50-74). The new draft recommendations have not yet been finalized.

In November 2020, 20 members of Congress joined Raskin and Rep. Rodney Davis (R-Ill.) in a letter to the Department of Health and Human Services in support of the draft guidelines.

Raskin’s segment is followed by an appearance from Dr. Darrell Gray of The Ohio State University Comprehensive Cancer Center, who further discusses the rise in young-onset colorectal cancer, especially for African Americans.

For more information on how your area is affected by this disease, read the Foundation’s report, Gut Check: Young-onset colorectal cancer in your state.

For more information on young-onset colorectal cancer, visit Too Young For This Sh*t.

About the Prevent Cancer Foundation^®

The Prevent Cancer Foundation^® is celebrating 35 years as the only U.S. nonprofit organization focused solely on saving lives across all populations through cancer prevention and early detection.  Through research, education, outreach and advocacy, we have helped countless people avoid a cancer diagnosis or detect their cancer early enough to be successfully treated.

The Foundation is rising to meet the challenge of reducing cancer deaths by 40% by 2035. To achieve this, we are committed to investing $20 million for innovative technologies to detect cancer early and advance multi-cancer screening, $10 million to expand cancer screening and vaccination access to medically underserved communities, and $10 million to educate the public about screening and vaccination options.

For more information, please visit www.preventcancer.org.