TWO Carlton players and a former club champion are leading the fight against bowel cancer, after taking part in a new campaign for the Jodi Lee Foundation.
Long-standing ambassador Levi Casboult has been joined by AFLW defender Gab Pound and Blues’ legend Stephen Kernahan in the foundation’s Degrees of Separation campaign.
The trio make up a host of AFL players, coaches and footy legends jumping on board the new initiative aimed to empower people to take active steps to prevent bowel cancer and live healthy lives.
Also involved in the campaign are Brisbane Lions brothers Dayne and Claye Beams, who lost their father to bowel cancer in March this year, as well as Swan Isaac Heeney and his senior coach John Longmire, Roo Scott Thompson and Port Adelaide’s Paddy Ryder.
The concept behind Degrees of Separation is simple. Often, it's only one or two degrees of separation between someone you know or love who has been impacted by or lost to bowel cancer. The initiative implores everyone to take a simple screening test to help prevent bowel cancer and save a life.
The Jodi Lee Foundation was established by Nick Lee in honour of wife Jodi, who lost her battle with bowel cancer at age 41.
“Since 2010 I have been on a mission to raise awareness about bowel cancer and increase participation in the National Bowel Cancer Screening Program. This disease is preventable when detected early,” said the Founder and Chairman, Nick Lee.
“By bringing these footy players together for our Degrees of Separation campaign we will reach out to hundreds of thousands of Australians and urge them to take their screening test when it arrives in the mail ... it might just save their life.”
Bowel cancer is the second most common cause of cancer-related deaths in Australia, but it doesn’t have to be. In fact, up to 90 percent of bowel cancer cases can be prevented if detected early.
Currently only 41 percent of people invited to participate in the National Bowel Cancer Screening Program are completing their screening tests. The lowest participation rate was for people aged 50-54 years at 28 percent.
Increasing participation in the National Bowel Cancer Screening Program by people aged 50-59 up to 50 percent is estimated to save an additional 965 lives by 2022. The net-cost benefit of this would total a saving of $1.8 billion over four years.
As one of its charity partners, the Blues have had a long-standing relationship with the Jodi Lee Foundation and host a game each year to help promote awareness for its campaigns.
To watch the Degrees of Separation campaign, click here. If you’d like to donate to the Jodi Lee Foundation, click here.
ABOUT JODI LEE FOUNDATION
Jodi Lee Foundation was established in honour of Jodi Lee, who lost her battle with bowel cancer at age 41. The Foundation’s mission is to empower people to take active steps to prevent bowel cancer and live healthy lives. Money raised by Jodi Lee Foundation is used to raise awareness about bowel cancer nationally through a number of events and initiatives; run its Workplace Prevention Program; and develop tools to aid the early detection of bowel cancer.
