Walking through a large, inflatable exhibit Friday, Brenda Brown was able to see what her colon cancer looked like when it was diagnosed as Stage IV almost two years ago.
The replica of a colon stretched 30 feet long and stood 13 feet high, and it was available for patients and staff members to view at Cancer Treatment Centers of America.
It will be open to the public on Saturday.
"I loved it," Brown said. "It's very educational."
It shows the stages of colon cancer, from a polyp - a growth of tissue attached to the colon wall that is commonly benign but can lead to colon cancer - to advanced stages of the disease.
"You actually get a visual and see what it actually is, what it's supposed to look like," Brown, of Tyler, Texas, said. "It's very informative."
Dr. Leon Yoder, a gastroenterologist at Cancer Treatment Centers of America, said people with no particular risk of colon cancer should start getting screened at age 50. Typically that is with a colonoscopy, although there are other screening methods.
People have a 5 percent chance of getting colon cancer at some point in their life, but that rate is decreasing, he said.
Lindsay Rehm, a registered nurse in the education department at Cancer Treatment Centers of America, said she hopes the traveling exhibit empowers people to look after their health and improve their wellness.
"It's a great opportunity to raise awareness about prevention and just increase awareness of the disease," she said.
The exhibit shows what can happen if cancer is not caught early, Rehm said.
"It's just very eye-opening to think about and see how things progress," she said.
Rene Gramajo of Guatemala has cancer in his liver and pancreas but came to the exhibit Friday because he wanted to learn more about the colon.
It reminded him that it's important to get checked out because you never know what can happen, he said through an interpreter.
"I'm a picture person," he said. "I like to see how the process goes graphically."
Mega Colon exhibit
When: 11 a.m. to 1 p.m. Saturday; presentation at 11:30 a.m.
Where: Cancer Treatment Centers of America, 10109 E. 79th St.
For more: 918-286-5000
Shannon Muchmore 918-581-8378
shannon.muchmore@tulsaworld.com
Original Print Headline: Larger-than-life colon gives visitors a glimpse inside
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