Philadelphia, and a member of the
NCCRA medical advisory board.
Two years later, you established the NCCRA, under the auspices of the Entertainment Industry Foundation (EIF).
More than 3,000 people contacted the NCCRA's Clinical Trials Research Center, and the study was filled in less than two months.
Q: One study funded by the
NCCRA involved relatives of people who had had colon cancer or precancerous polyps.
The
NCCRA was founded in 2000 by Couric, along with nationally known cancer fundraiser Lilly Tartikoff and the Entertainment Industry Foundation.
The monthlong public education event is a turnkey, no-cost program approved by the NCCRA for National Association of Chain Drug Stores member companies.
Chain pharmacies offering this option will keep $2 of the $5 collected to pay for the costs of the screening kits, with the rest of the proceeds going to NCCRA to fund colon cancer research.
"Rectal bleeding is often the first and in many cases the only warning sign a person has gastrointestinal diseases such as colon cancer," comments an
NCCRA spokesman.
The national spokeswoman for the effort is "Today Show" host Katie Couric, who co-founded NCCRA with Lilly Tartikoff.
Speaking at a press conference to launch the NCCRA earlier this month, NACDS president and chief executive officer Craig Fuller asserted that chain pharmacists are uniquely positioned to assist with the project.
In announcing the five-year initiative NCCRA officials said its goals are to raise public awareness about colon cancer, encourage individuals to get preventative screenings and to raise additional funding, both public and private, for research to prevent or cure colon cancer.
With NACDS cosponsoring the campaign and thousands of chain pharmacies collaborating with the NCCRA, the initiative can build public awareness that may help save lives or prevent serious illnesses, he notes.