Nassau County, NY - April 7th, 2016 - County Executive Edward P. Mangano signed a pledge, initiated by the American Cancer Society and the National Colorectal Cancer Roundtable, in which hundreds of organizations have committed to substantially reducing Colorectal Cancer as a major public health problem, and are working toward the shared goal of regularly screening 80% of adults 50 years and older for colorectal cancer by 2018.
“I am proud to take this pledge and unite with the American Cancer Society, hoping to increase early detections for colorectal cancer and help save lives,” said County Executive Mangano.
This year, an estimated 135,000 people, including over 8,000 from New York, will be diagnosed with colorectal cancer, and nearly 50,000 will succumb to the disease. If the goal of 80% of people over age 50 screened by 2018 is reached, than 277,000 cases and 203,000 colorectal cancer deaths would be prevented by 2030.
For more information about colorectal cancer screening, please visit www.cancer.org/colon or contact the American Cancer Society at 1-800-227-2345. For more information on the 80 by 2018 initiative, click here.