Advocates followed up C3’s very successful Call-on Congress with a one day phone blitz. Over 400 Congressional offices were reached and our voices were heard loud and clear on The Hill.

BUTT…Our job is not done. We won’t stop until President Obama signs The Colorectal Cancer Prevention, Early Detection, and Treatment Act into law. We still need you to contact your Members of Congress via email, fax or phone and ask for their support.

Let Congress know that March may be over, but our message remains the same all year long!

Click here to see which offices were contacted.

That’s all there is to it! Now it’s your turn. Pick up the phone and call now.

On Tuesday, March 24, 2009, C3: Colorectal Cancer Coalition advocates participating in the the 2009 Call-on Congress stopped by the House Financial Services Committee hearing that was taking place at the same time. One of our advocates sat down behind Federal Reserve Chairman Ben Bernanke, who was testifying at the time. Viewers of the televised hearings were then treated to the image you see above. Many eagle-eyed colorectal cancer advocates spotted the Cover Your Butt shirt immediately.

C3 advocates were visiting Capitol Hill to urge their legislators to support HR 1189, The Colorectal Cancer Prevention, Early Detection and Treatment Act.

Carlea Bauman, Rep. Kay Granger (R-TX), and Joe Arite

Representative Kay Granger (R-TX), C3 advocate Gordon Cole, who is a stage IV colorectal cancer survivor, and C3 President Carlea Bauman will be interviewed about ways to get involved in the fight against colorectal cancer on Tuesday, March 24th at 4 PM EDT/1 PM PST.

The interview will be broadcast on the “Frankly Speaking About Cancer” internet talk radio show on the Voice America™ Network’s Health & Wellness Channel. The show is hosted by The Wellness Community President & CEO Kim Thiboldeaux.

Tune into the show and learn how you can get involved in efforts to create a National Colorectal Cancer Screening Program. The show will also be available to download and listen after the airdate and time at the link below.

Tune in or download the show

Senator Baucus’ health care plan, which many view as the starting point for comprehensive health care reform, has called for lawmakers to make the Medicare buy-in immediately available.

There is a thought that expanding the current system could help cut down on government spending by preventing more costly conditions in the future. “Opening Medicare to Americans in their late 50s or early 60s would help prevent serious health conditions from deteriorating and resulting in higher costs to Medicare once those people turn 65,” said Stuart Guterman, a policy analyst at the Commonwealth Fund. (McClatchy/Charleston Gazette).

Currently, colorectal cancer screenings are covered under Medicare (65+), but the approved guidelines state that regular screenings should begin at 50. That’s a 15 year gap! Studies have shown that the savings to Medicare from catching the disease early, instead of treating a late stage patient, would be in the billions of dollars.

Get into the spirit of Colorectal Cancer Awareness Month by purchasing a Cover Your Butt t-shirt or baseball jersey.

The baseball jerseys (pictured here) are $20 and the gray, short-sleeved tees (pictured at left and here) are $15.  Both shirts are sized small to XXL.

Visit the C3 store to get geared up.

C3 and our Cover Your Butt Campaign were also recognized for our efforts in building support at the grassroots level, and helping to shape policy decisions so the most effective colorectal cancer prevention and treatments are available to all Americans. Click here to read the resolution.

The resolution was introduced alongside HR 1189, the Colorectal Cancer Prevention, Early Detection and Treatment Act. The bill would create a National Colorectal Cancer Screening Program.

The bipartisan legislation would establish a program administered by the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) and would authorize $50 million in funding for grants to the states. The grants would be used to conduct programs to provide vital colon cancer screenings, information and follow-up services to those ages 50-64, with a focus on those most at risk, such as low-income, uninsured and underinsured men and women.

It is estimate that colorectal cancer will claim over 50,000 lives in 2009 alone which makes it the second leading cause of death from cancer in the United States. When screened early, however, colorectal cancer patients have a 90% survival rate. Disparities play a significant role in these staggering statistics, as being uninsured often impedes access to colon cancer screening tests, which would detect the disease at an earlier, more treatable stage or even prevent it before it starts.

Similar programs such as the National Breast and Cervical Cancer Early Detection Program (NBCCEDP) have been extremely successful. From January 2001 to December 2005 the NBCCEDP screened over 1.7 million people and was able to detect over 13,000 breast cancers and over 21,000 cervical cancers.

The bill also requires grantees to provide the full range of cancer care, including follow up of abnormal tests, access to diagnostic and therapeutic colonoscopy and treatment for detected cancers. As a result, the program will boost testing rates, reduce colorectal cancer disparities and save lives. This terrible disease can and will be beaten.

Click here to Take Action!

Upon dialing 866-615-3375, you will be directed to enter your zip code so that you can be connected to the offices of your two senators and representative. Upon reaching their offices, you can expect your conversation to go something like this (we are pretending that you are calling a fictional Member of Congress named Representative Stevens; you should use the names of your elected officials when you call):

[Congressional staffer:] Thank you for calling Representative Stevens’s office. How can I direct your call?

[You:] Hello. I am a constituent. I live in [home town, state] and I am calling to register my support for The Colorectal Cancer Prevention, Early Detection and Treatment Act. I urge Representative Stevens to sign on to the legislation as a co-sponsor.

[Congressional staffer:] Okay, I will pass your message along to Representative Stevens.

[You:] Thank you very much. Good bye!

At the conclusion of your call, DO NOT HANG UP. You will be automatically re-routed to the Butt-In line, where you can direct the call to your other Members of Congress. Please be sure to reach all three of your Members of Congress.

If you call the office and get voice mail, it is okay to leave a message stating:

“Hello. I am a constituent. I live in [home town, state] and I am calling to register my support for The Colorectal Cancer Prevention, Early Detection and Treatment Act. I urge [Representative Stevens] to sign on to the legislation as a co-sponsor. I can be reached at [your phone number with area code].”

Text BUTTIN to 30644 on your mobile phone now for a reminder on March 31 when it’s time to make the call!

C3 will once again be holding a one-day phone blitz to Congress on March 31st, 2009.

On this single day, we ask folks to call a special toll-free number (866-615-3375) that will allow callers to be directly connected to their members of Congress. Last year, nearly 2,000 people from all over the country participated - and it made a real difference in the level of support that the colorectal cancer screening bills that were sitting in Congress received.

Help us spread the word and get folks excited about doing something that can truly make a difference in the fight against colorectal cancer.

There are 5 easy ways you can help:

1. If you’re on Facebook, go to the C3 Congressional Butt-In event page and RSVP that you will attend. By doing this, it will show up in your Facebook “News Feed” which will help spread the word about the event. You can also invite your other Facebook friends to RSVP.
2. From your cell phone, text “BUTTIN” to 30644 to get a text reminder on March 31st to call into the Butt-In. Urge others to do the same.
3. When C3 begins sending out emails in the coming weeks about the Butt-In, forward them to everyone in your address book. If you’re not already on C3’s email list, register here.
4. On March 31st, make sure every person in your family and social circle joins in the Congressional Butt-In. It will take them 5 minutes to participate, but could make a huge difference in the fight.
5. Copy and paste the following information into your email signature:

   Join the C3 Congressional Butt-In on Tuesday March 31, 2009.
   
   Call 866-615-3375 and be directly connected to Congress!
   
   Text BUTTIN to 30644 now and and C3 will message you on March 31
   
   when it's time to place your call to Congress.

With your help, word will spread quickly that legislation in Congress could make a difference.

We appreciate your help.