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Colossal Colon exhibit to visit Charleston Jan. 27

MUSC will host a fun, educational exhibit to promote colorectal health on Jan. 27-28 at the Charleston Maritime Center. The Colossal Colon, a 40-foot replica of a human colon, makes its debut in South Carolina teaching middle school students and the public about the large intestine and the effects of colorectal cancer. The free exhibit will be open to the public from 5:30 to 8 p.m., Jan. 27. 

Visitors can crawl through and tour the huge four-foot high exhibit and see examples of healthy colon tissue and learn about non-cancerous diseases of the colon and polyps, plus identify various stages of colorectal cancer. 

MUSC Digestive Disease Center gastroenterologists and other digestive specialists will conduct talks and discussions with participants about digestive health, diagnostic testing, interventional treatments with endoscopy and other options used in the treatment of disease and other digestive disorders. 

Each year, more than 65,000 Americans die from colorectal cancer. Colon and rectal cancer is the third leading cause of cancer death in the U.S. During a person's lifetime, 1 out of 17 men and 1 out of 18 women will develop colorectal cancer.

The Colossal Colon was created in 2002 and has traveled to more than 50 U.S. cities. It is the creation of Molly McMaster, a colon cancer survivor who was first diagnosed on her birthday at the age 23. The Colossal Colon is dedicated to the memory of McMaster’s friend, Amanda Sherwood Roberts, who died from colon cancer at age 27.

The exhibit is sponsored by MUSC Digestive Disease Center and Olympus America. 
 
 

Friday, Jan. 21, 2005
Catalyst Online is published weekly, updated as needed and improved from time to time by the MUSC Office of Public Relations for the faculty, employees and students of the Medical University of South Carolina. Catalyst Online editor, Kim Draughn, can be reached at 792-4107 or by email, catalyst@musc.edu. Editorial copy can be submitted to Catalyst Online and to The Catalyst in print by fax, 792-6723, or by email to petersnd@musc.edu or catalyst@musc.edu. To place an ad in The Catalyst hardcopy, call Community Press at 849-1778.