Table of Contents
ST. LOUIS — Boehringer Ingelheim helped the Colon Cancer Alliance in its effort to raise public awareness of colon cancer with its sponsorship of the third annual Undy 5000 five-kilometer run in St. Louis.
The event was the third of a dozen Undy 5000s that will be held nationwide this year.
 |
(Left to right) Boehringer Ingelheim’s Gulam Khan, the Colon Cancer Alliance’s Andrew Spiegel, fashion designer Carmen Marc Valvo, and Boehringer Ingelheim’s Catherine Vieira and Rick Oprzadek.
|
“St. Louis has become a mainstay for the Undy 5000, due to the community’s overwhelmingly positive response to this event,” Colon Cancer Alliance chief executive officer Andrew Spiegel says. “Each year the run helps bring more awareness to colon cancer and the importance of screenings to help save lives.”
Unlike traditional 5-K racers, runners in the Undy 5000 events wear specially designed boxer shorts to draw attention to the part of the body affected by colon cancer.
The race was preceded by a “Parade of Undies” fashion show. Both the race and fashion show were sponsored by Boehringer Ingelheim Consumer Health Care, the manufacturer and marketer of the Dulcolax brand of laxatives. The company will also sponsor the remaining nine Undy 5000 events this year.
Fashion designer Carmen Marc Valvo, who is a colon cancer survivor, served as one of the judges of the fashion show.
“I’m thrilled to participate in the Undy 5000 to help raise awareness of the need for colon cancer screening,” Valvo said. “Fear and embarrassment often make people reluctant to undergo the screening process, but I can’t stress enough how important it is to keep testing. When it comes to combating this disease, early detection and treatment is critical.”
Executives at Boehringer Ingelheim and the Colon Cancer Alliance note that colon cancer kills nearly 50,000 people every year. Almost every one of those deaths, they say, could have been avoided if the person had had a colonoscopy.
“Our goal is to increase awareness and equity of the Dulcolax brand via retailer-supported integrated programming,” commented Catherine Vieira, director of trade marketing at Boehringer Ingelheim. The company’s efforts with the alliance kicked off in conjunction with National Colorectal Cancer Awareness month.
“This disease needs awareness so it is better known,” she stressed. “Consumers are much more familiar with lung, breast and prostate cancer than they are with colon cancer.”
