The Giant Colon Tour > Picture Gallery |
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Zoomer Show, Toronto, Ontario October 31, 2009 The Giant Colon Exhibit greeted visitors at the Zoomer Show which took place at the Direct Energy Centre in Toronto, Saturday, October 31 and Sunday November 1st. Many of CCAC’s Volunteers, cancer coaches and health care providers in the Greater Toronto Area were on hand to answer visitor questions and provide information . We thank AMGEN Canada and the Zoomer Show for providing the CCAC with the opportunity to participate in the show with both our patient information booth and our unique 40 foot inflatable educational tool.
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Saskatoon, Saskatchewan October 2, 2009 The city of Saskatoon, surrounded by its golden canola fields, proved to be quite the golden opportunity for education on October 2, 2009. Arguably the most unusual of the 1,000 events held that day worldwide, spawned by Lance Armstrong under the Livestrong: Lance Armstrong Foundation banner, The Giant Colon generated a remarkable amount of interest for a one day appearance. Close to 2,000 people turned out, following a mid-morning kickoff attended by the Mayor of Saskatoon, Don Atchison, and Randy Weekes, Member of the Legislative Assembly. Livestrong Saskatoon’s Lorna Scott, whose dedication to the cause was spawned by her husband’s ongoing battle with cancer, assembled as strong a team of volunteers as any, all mingling with visitors at Midtown Plaza, discussing the various options for tackling colorectal cancer prevention and handing out literature. The success of the event led to discussions about bringing The Giant Colon to the region again in the near future.
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Ottawa, Ontario September 24-26 2009 Ottawa’s St. Laurent Centre mall was the ideal venue for The Giant
Colon Tour’s 10th exhibit, from September 24-26, 2009. Over the course
of three days, 10,000 people dropped by to learn about the prevention
of colorectal cancer, a staggering 5,000 on the final day alone! The
Ottawa Hospital partnered with us for this tour, made possible through
the generosity of the Canadian Cancer Society, as well as the Ottawa
Regional Cancer Foundation. Volunteers from all of these
organizations, as well as the Ottawa Colorectal Cancer Support Group,
assisted with the Giant Colon and manned the various booths. As a sign
of the times, the good people from Ottawa Public Health set up two
germicide pump stations, enabling visitors to sanitize their hands.
Heads turned as cheerleaders from the Ottawa Sooners football club
volunteered over the course of the exhibit, as well. Our gratitude to
all for making this such a successful event!
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Edmonton, Alberta July 2009 Following tight on the heels of the Calgary trip, The Giant Colon travelled to Canada’s famous West Edmonton Mall from July 9-11, 2009 and several thousand were attracted to an exhibit that was unique among the many spectacular sights in this storied mall. Alberta Health Services’ Cancer Screening Programs, the Tom Baker Health Centre and the Crohn’s and Colitis Foundation of Canada were all on hand providing literature and staffing the event with their volunteers. Organizers of the highly successful annual SloPitch fundraiser that the CCAC is involved with here also helped staff The Giant Colon exhibit.
Much thanks to everyone for helping make our Alberta trip such a positive experience. |
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Calgary, Alberta July 2009 Calgary’s renowned annual Stampede proved to be quite the backdrop for The Giant Colon, as all manner of cowpoke-clad visitors toured Eau Claire Market from July 6-7, 2009. While the Stampede grabs over 100,000 aficionados annually in its tight lasso, over 1,000 stopped by to learn how to prevent colorectal cancer. Helping spread the word that good health is possible if you work at it were Alberta Health Services’ Cancer Screening Programs, the Tom Baker Health Centre and the Crohn’s and Colitis Foundation of Canada, with booths staffed by volunteers.
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Northwest Territories May, 2009 In spite of a hastily-arranged visit by The Giant Colon in mid-May, 2009, events organized in Inuvik, about as far north as you can go in Canada, and Yellowknife proved to be gigantic successes. The ‘Land of the Midnight Sun’ was the place to be, as the populations of both centres came out in impressive numbers to see one of the more interesting and unusual exhibits that has ever crossed the 60th Parallel. Organizers Debbie MacDonald in Inuvik and Cheryl Cooper in Yellowknife, plus their incredible cadre of staff and volunteers, were extremely concerned with getting the message out, that colorectal cancer is preventable through early screening, which is done by way of the FOBT test in this region. The aboriginal community here is particularly hard-hit by colorectal cancer, as are other ethnic groups, so the need for The Giant Colon Tour became readily apparent as many groups of elders and entire school classes went through it. Present and actively assisting were Dr. Braam and Sonia de Klerk, Dr. Tom and Marlena Guzowski and Dr. Kami Kandola, while we were fortunate to have Yellowknife’s Dr. John Morse on hand during his rounds in Inuvik. Health Minister Sandy Lee also paid a visit to the Yellowknife event.
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Kitchener April 17-18, 2009 On April 17 and 18, 2009, The Giant Colon Tour appeared at Kitchener’s
Fairview Park Mall, where it drew some 300 people per hour over the two days
of the Community Fair for Cancer Care. The ever-popular ColonCancerCheck
“transparent” body suits, with graphic representations of internal organs
appear on the outside of the suit, were a hit here, as well, attracting a
lot of attention. People came from the Kitchener-Waterloo area and as far
ss Northern Ontario, as they had heard about The Giant Colon from friends
and family in the other communities. Committed volunteers at the various
booths of the fair were most active and pink roses were handed out to female
guests, proving a friendly touch during a serious event.
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The Sault Ste. Marie Armory opened its doors to The Giant Colon Tour on April 2, 2009, for what proved to be a truly interesting few days, as members of Canada’s military proved to be gracious hosts at a time when eight members of their home regiment were serving in Afghanistan. The Sault event was also notable in that the amazing organizers from Algoma Health Unit arranged to have primary and secondary classes from no fewer than eight local schools take tours through The Giant Colon. The children and teens were thrilled to be touring a giant colon and many of them were studying this part of the body in class at the time. CCAC President Barry Stein was on hand as a speaker at the grand opening, accompanied by Dr. Terry Sullivan, local oncologists, professionals and politicians. The satirical rock band The Comedics provided humorous colon-related entertainment for several hours, much to the delight of a large seated crowd. |
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Giant Colon Tour Marquee IMAGE |
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On March 27, 2009, the newly-renovated New Sudbury Centre welcomed The Giant Colon Tour to a five-day event that drew an astounding 15,000 people organized by the Sudbury & District Health Unit. The volunteer base was inspirational, as tightly-knit shifts handed out literature and spoke with visitors about related issues. Mall personnel were particularly helpful and the media, which started covering The Giant Colon Tour in Timmins, continued stopping by, requesting interviews, photos and tours of The Giant Colon. All in all, a gigantic success! |
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Timmins March 21, 2009 On March 20, 2009, The Giant Colon Tour headed out on the road to Northern Ontario, which has some of the highest rates of colorectal cancer in the country. Small-town Timmins was the first stop and the 101 Mall drew almost 2,000 people to a health fare organized by Porcupine Health Unit. Staff and volunteers from Porcupine, Canadian Cancer Society, Crohns and Colitis Foundation, Canadian Diabetes Association, Canadian Heart Association and other groups manned various tables, promoting improved health. Sudbury region’s Dr. Amanda Hey joined the tour, sporting the famous transparent ColonCancerCheck body suit that features graphics of the body’s internal organs on the outside. ‘If you were see-through, you would not require screening,’ was the basic message. ‘But you’re not.’ This body suit became a popular attraction worn by very conspicuous personnel throughout the tour. |
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Montreal March 19, 2009 - Complexe Desjardins |
All road pictures taken by Bram Eisenthal & Gail Grief