Blount County Mayor Ed Mitchell declares March 2024 Colorectal Cancer Awareness Month

Blount County Mayor Ed Mitchell issued a proclamation to declare March 2024 Colorectal Cancer Awareness Month. The proclamation states that colorectal cancer is the fourth leading cause of cancer deaths in Tennessee and second deadliest in the United States.

Approximately 3,460 people are expected to be diagnosed with colorectal cancer in Tennessee and approximately 1,220 Tennesseans will die from the disease by the end of 2024, it read.

The proclamation went on to state that colorectal cancer can be a preventable and even curable disease if detected at an early stage. It stressed the importance of regular screenings and mentioned that the goal of the National Colorectal Cancer Roundtable is to “increase timely colorectal cancer screening rates to 80 percent in every community…”

It concluded by encouraging all “Blount County citizens and organizations to raise awareness, support education efforts and promote regular screening in order to strive toward a world where Colorectal Cancer is preventable, treatable and beatable.”