According to the American Cancer Society, “Colorectal cancer is the third most commonly diagnosed cancer and the third leading cause of cancer death in both men and women in the US, with about 141,210 new cases and 49,380 deaths expected in 2011. About 72% of cases arise in the colon and about 28% in the rectum.”

Daytime talk show host (“The Talk”) and primetime talent competition judge (“America’s Got Talent”) Sharon Osbourne was diagnosed with colon cancer in 2002. While the cancer reportedly spread, Sharon triumphantly won the battle. She subsequently founded The Sharon Osbourne Colon Cancer Program, in affiliation with Cedars-Sinai Medical Center in Los Angeles.

The mission of the program, according to her official website (http://www.sharonosbourne.com), is “to improve the lives of patients and their loved ones by providing at-home help childcare, transportation, access to support groups and patient care services offered within Cedars-Sinai Medical Center. The program also under writes colon cancer education for healthcare providers. The long-term goal of the Sharon Osbourne Colon Cancer Program is to establish an ever-widening array of screening and educational opportunities.”

(Source: http://www.sharonosbourne.com/support.html)

Screening and prevention are two of the many key elements of the program, and to find out more details, you can visit Mrs. O’s website, cited above, as well as the American Cancer Society’s website at: http://www.cancer.org.

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