Major League Baseball's Athletic Trainers Join Fight Against Colorectal Cancer at Spring Training

3/21/2002

From: Gregory M. Yost of Romano & Associates Inc., 410-730-4133

WASHINGTON, March 21 -- Throughout the month of March, the athletic trainers of Major League Baseball will help raise awareness of colorectal cancer at Spring Training games throughout Florida and Arizona. The athletic trainers, all members of the Professional Baseball Athletic Trainers Society (PBATS), have joined with the James E. Olson Foundation (JEO), an organization whose mission is to provide colorectal cancer research and information, to make the American public aware of the need to be screened for this "cancer that no one wants to talk about."

Along with baseball's return to the playing field, March is significant because it marks National Colorectal Cancer Awareness Month. Each year over 55,000 Americans die from colorectal cancer, making it the second-leading cancer killer, behind lung cancer.

Members of PBATS will do their part to help raise awareness by wearing dark pink and blue wristbands during Spring Training games. The colors were selected to show that colorectal cancer affects both men and women equally.

The Centers for Disease Control (CDC) reports that 130,000 Americans are diagnosed with colorectal cancer each year, with over 55,000 annual deaths attributed to the disease. The CDC also reports that one-third of these deaths could be prevented through early detection of the disease. The key to early detection is regular screenings for the disease. It is recommended that everyone over the age of 50 should receive a colorectal cancer screening at least once a year.

"We hope that by wearing these wristbands, PBATS can help spread the word that colorectal cancer is a serious issue," stated Jamie Reed, head athletic trainer for the Tampa Bay Devil Rays and the president of PBATS. Reed also added, "We are spreading the word that regular screenings can help catch the disease in its early stages, when treatments are a lot more effective and successful."

The CDC will feature JEO President and Co-founder, Julie Olson Paterson, in a national public service campaign emphasizing the importance of being screened for colorectal cancer. The program, Screenings for Life, stresses that regular screenings are necessary for detecting early signs of the disease.

To arrange for an interview regarding the Professional Baseball Athletic Trainers Society's involvement with the effort to promote awareness of colorectal cancer, contact Romano & Associates Inc. at 410-730-4133. More information about the Professional Baseball Athletic Trainers Society or the James E. Olson Colorectal Cancer Foundation can be found on the Internet at www.pbats.org and www.jeofoundation.org.