2008 Year End Appeal

As the year winds down, it is a good time to reflect on the past year and look forward to the future. This past year has brought many hardships on people and the uncertain economy has us all very cautious about the coming New Year. At the Colon Cancer Alliance (CCA) we take this into consideration as we move forward. But colorectal cancer continues to affect people at all times of the year and it remains the number two cancer killer, taking as many lives as breast cancer and AIDS combined.

This past year has seen some significant changes in the field of colorectal cancer. We are now able to know ahead of time which patients will or will not respond to an entire class of drugs for colorectal cancer. New advances in managing tumors in the liver have changed the way we talk about metastatic disease. New screening techniques have now been approved, offering choices that were not available just a few months ago.

New approaches can offer life and hope, but many patients find out about them too late. We are committed to being sure that every patient has the best chance to live longer and better. And we are pleased to report since CCA started 10 years ago, people with this disease are living longer and better than ever. But we can't do it alone. We need your support to make this possible.

Our awareness campaign has reached new heights with the launch of the Dress in Blue Campaign that will take place this coming March and the Undy 5000 5K run/walk. Thousands of supporters--like you, have participated in, or donated to the Undy 5000 walks to raise awareness of colorectal cancer. We are rapidly expanding the Undy 5000 for 2009, and we hope we can count on your participation and support. The Undy will return to Philadelphia, Dallas and Phoenix. First annual races are slated in Detroit, Denver, St. Louis and we will shortly announce a California location. Stay tuned for announcements of other cities which will host these energizing events in 2009.

CCA is reaching more patients than ever before. We are getting more calls to our toll-free Help Line. We have more volunteers, more Buddies and we are bringing back our popular regional conferences to ensure that patients and their families have the best and latest information about treating colorectal cancer. Finally, we are expanding our ever growing local chapters to help spread the word about this disease and bring CCA's mission to the local level. Now we need your help to ensure these programs can keep growing. Please make your end-of-year donation to help us in our efforts to inform every patient of the latest and best ways to manage their disease.

Thank you very much for your past and future support of CCA, and we wish you and your loved ones a safe and Happy Holiday.

Warmest regards,


Your friends at the CCA

PS. As you look forward to the New Year, please check our website for the latest information and events at www.ccalliance.org. You can sign up for our newsletters and communicate online with others in the CCA community. And, you can make your tax-deductible year end donation there too. Thank you.