Colorectal Cancer Alliance Announces $3.4M in Partnership Funding to Address Health Disparities

The Colorectal Cancer Alliance announced a trio of major gifts from corporate partners on Monday. The donations specifically target the health disparities in colorectal cancer among underserved communities that face barriers in access to screening and prevention as Black Americans are 20% more likely to be diagnosed and 40% more likely to die from the disease.

• LetsGetChecked, a virtual care company, invested $1 million for 15,000 of its at-home FIT colon cancer screening tests, as well as $100,000 in marketing funds for reaching uninsured and underserved populations.
• Exact Sciences Corp. contributed $1 million for its Cologuard stool DNA tests to screen approximately 1,500 people.
• Cottonelle, in partnership with BLKHLTH — a nonprofit organization that seeks to reduce the impact of racism on Black health through education and action — created a dedicated Screening Assistance Fund to support eligible Black patients in need of colonoscopies.

In fewer than 90 days, the fund has already helped to provide free colonoscopies to nearly 40 Black patients in need of care.

“Health issues negatively impact Black people at disproportionately higher rates, in large part due to the barriers created by systemic racism,” Matthew McCurdy, co-founder and president of BLKHLTH,” said. “This is especially true for colorectal cancer. In just a few months, it’s amazing to see all the people we’ve been able to reach with critical colorectal cancer screening information and free colonoscopies as a result of our partnership with Cottonelle and the fund we've created with the Colorectal Cancer Alliance.”

Additionally Brooks Bell, a survivor and Colorectal Cancer Alliance board member, added $1 million through her and her husband’s Brooks Bell and Jesse Lipson Colon Cancer Prevention Fund to launch an education campaign to teach people that colon cancer is preventable.

“As the leading colorectal cancer advocacy organization, the Colorectal Cancer Alliance recognizes the value of partnerships in expanding our reach and broadening access to preventive screenings for populations that experience the greatest disparities in health access,” Michael Sapienza, Colorectal Cancer Alliance CEO, said. “The alliance has a responsibility to help increase access to screening and care, working with industry and healthcare partners like Exact Sciences, LetsGetChecked, Cottonelle and BLKHLTH, and generous advocates, like Brooks Bell, to ensure that underserved individuals — particularly Black Americans, or those who are uninsured or underinsured — have access to lifesaving screening options.”