Vienna, 14 September, 2015
Colorectal cancer (CRC) is the most common type of gastrointestinal cancer in Europe, with estimates of more than 300,000 new cases recorded in the EU every year. It accounts for approximately half of all GI malignancies in Europe1, and the annual incidence is predicted to rise 12% by 20202.
Although most cases of CRC are diagnosed in the over 50’s, recent findings have also suggested that the risk of young people developing CRC is increasing at an alarming rate, highlighting the need for greater CRC awareness across all age groups. With early detection resulting in a 90-95% survival rate, United European Gastroenterology (UEG) has launched the ‘#FaceUp2CRC’ campaign and is calling for medical professionals to unite and create a movement to help raise awareness of CRC, encouraging members of the public to undertake screening.
UEG is calling for medical professionals to share their ‘selfie’ and post this online with the hashtag #FaceUp2CRC. Supporters are invited to be as creative as they like and are encouraged to ‘face up’ to their camera whilst posting their message.
UEG President Professor Michael Farthing explains “colorectal cancer is treatable when detected early, yet it claims the lives of hundreds of people across Europe every day. We hope that the GI community will come together to help us with this campaign to help raise awareness of CRC and improve screening uptake and survival rates across Europe”.
Current rates for CRC screening programmes vary from as little as 15% in areas of Poland and just 22% in Belgium to a healthier rate of 64% in Norway and 70% in Finland. However, uptake generally throughout Europe remains alarmingly low, with the percentage of eligible adults screened in many countries falling considerably short of the 65% rate considered desirable by the European commission.
UEG will be promoting the campaign on Twitter, Thunderclap and throughout UEG Week Barcelona 2015. To find out more about UEG Week, please visit: https://www.ueg.eu/week/
#FaceUp2CRC
// 03.10.2015
