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Working to eliminate colon rectal cancer

[photo: Gov. Office]
compiled by Samoa News staff

In this Mar. 3 photo are some of the staff members of the Governor’s Office in front of the A.P. Lutali Executive Office Building, dressed in the color “blue” in support of and in observance of Colorectal Cancer Awareness Month in March.

Lt. Gov. Lemanu Palepoi Sialega Mauga, who is also acting governor, issued a Feb. 23 proclamation naming the month of March 2017 as Colorectal Cancer Awareness Month in American Samoa. Furthermore, he calls this observance to the attention of all citizens of the territory by wearing blue on Friday, March 3, 2017 to observe National Dress in Blue Day in eternal memory of those whose lives have been lost to this disease, to give courage to those affected by this disease, and the shining hope for a future free of colon cancer.

According to the proclamation, approximately every four minutes, someone is diagnosed with colorectal cancer, and every 10 minutes, someone dies from colorectal cancer.

“The survival rate of individuals who have early stage colorectal cancer is 90 percent, but is only 10 percent when diagnosed after it has spread to other organs,” Lemanu said.