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Librarians, Plan Ahead for March: National Colorectal Cancer Awareness Month

To support your library’s health programming strategy, here are March health program ideas – brought to you by The Pulse, part of the Gale Health and Wellness Resource Center. Keep looking for us on the first of each month to find resources for three months out. Still working on winter? Check out  December: Holiday and Cold Weather Safety Month, January: Maintaining a Healthy Weight, and February: Children’s Dental Health Awareness Month. Is your library focusing on National Nutrition Month this March? Check out our March 2011 library health programming ideas.

Colorectal cancer — cancer of the colon or rectum — is one of the most commonly diagnosed cancers in the United States and the second most likely to be fatal. Most cases occur in adults over age 50, and if everyone 50 and older were screened annually, more than half of these deaths could be prevented according to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC). Screening and prevention, must begin with awareness, however, which is why March is National Colorectal Cancer Awareness month. Promoting it will be easy with these free resources and with information from Gale Health and Wellness Resource Center:

  • Quick and Easy: printable coloring pages and other activities for children and teens.
  • Featured Resources: books for children and their caregivers and links to reliable online information
  • Book Club: adult book club ideas
  • Tie In:  ideas for library programs
  • Community Resources: local agencies to contact
  • Publicity Resources: free resources to help you publicize National Colorectal Awareness Month at your library through social networking sites or traditional printed materials
  • Fun Stuff: links to interactive websites and apps

Quick and Easy

Books 

Reliable Online Information for Children:

Reliable Online Information for Adults:

Book Club

The Emperor of all Maladies: A Biography of Cancer by Siddhartha Mukherjee (Simon & Shuster, 2010). Winner of the 2011 Pulitzer Prize for Non-fiction.

From the publisher: “The Emperor of All Maladies is a magnificent, profoundly humane “biography” of cancer—from its first documented appearances thousands of years ago through the epic battles in the twentieth century to cure, control, and conquer it to a radical new understanding of its essence. Physician, researcher, and award-winning science writer, Siddhartha Mukherjee examines cancer with a cellular biologist’s precision, a historian’s perspective, and a biographer’s passion. The result is an astonishingly lucid and eloquent chronicle of a disease humans have lived with—and perished from—for more than five thousand years.”

Tie In

Women’s History Month: Eartha Kitt, a Legendary Women Killed by Colon Cancer

Born on a cotton plantation in South Carolina in 1927, Eartha Mae Kitt was the original diva. A legendary jazz singer, cabaret star, stage and screen actress, and human rights activist, she is probably most popularly remembered for her 1953 recording of “Santa Baby” and her role of Catwoman in the final season of the popular 1960′s Batman Series, where she shows off her trademark purr. She died at the age of 81 from colon cancer.

Remember Eartha Kitt at your library by introducing her to a new generation. She is a shining American success story, a versatile star who continued working until shortly before her death.

Community Resources

Find a local agency to partner with, a speaker, or other local resources here:

Publicity Resources

Use these free publicity resources alongside your library’s March programming information – newsletter, blog, posters, or fliers – to promote Colorectal Cancer Awareness Month at your library.

Fun Stuff

Add these interesting and helpful interactive links to your library’s website, Facebook page, or Twitter feed:

Interactive Web Sites for Children and Teens

Interactive Web Sites for Adults


Do you have additional  programming ideas that you’d like to share? Feel free to leave a comment.

Posted on: December 1, 2011, 8:30 am Category: Library Programming Tagged with: ,

By: hwatkins

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