In a new PSA, Jamie Foxx is partnering with Stand Up to Cancer and Exact Sciences to promote early colon cancer screenings, specifically for men and women over 45.
In an exclusive video obtained by People Magazine, Foxx speaks to how treatable colon cancer is if caught early, urging those watching to get screened if 45 or older.
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Foxx shares in the video, “It’s time for a talk. If you’re 45 or older, you need to get yourself screened for colon cancer. This disease can be very treatable if caught early, so the sooner you know what’s up with your health, the better.”
Foxx then suggests that while most people lead busy lives, they should “make the time” to get screened, saying, “We’re all busy and we think ‘when do we fit it in?’ Well, make the time. It might just mean more time with your family down the road.”
“Cancer affects everyone. I’ve lost good friends – young friends – to this deadly disease,” Foxx continued. “Don’t make the mistake of waiting until you have symptoms or thinking you’re not at risk because it doesn’t run in your family.”
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The American Cancer Society estimated there would be 104,610 new cases of colon cancer in 2020, with 53,200 deaths from the disease. According to their data, Black people have the highest rate of colon cancer and mortality due to the disease compared to other groups.
Per their research, “During 2012-2016, CRC incidence rates in blacks were about 20% higher than those in non-Hispanic whites (NHWs) and 50% higher than those in APIs.”
Foxx publicly mourned the tragic loss of Chadwick Boseman, who passed away last summer after battling colon cancer for four years. At the time, Foxx shared on his Instagram, “Please Jesus please… I know you know what’s best… but at this moment our hearts are writhing with so much pain… so to lose this beautiful black king renders me weak…please watch over his family and loved ones…. @chadwickboseman you have touched the lives of all of us.”
As theGrio previously reported, “African Americans are disproportionately diagnosed at later, hard-to-treat stages,” according to research from the National Cancer Institute. Boseman was diagnosed with stage 3 when his four-year battle with the disease began.
For more information on colon cancer, screening options, and more, head to standuptocancer.org/ColonCancer.
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