3/2/16: March is Colorectal Cancer Awareness month and in honor of this, we have a special educational video for you. This year about 140,000 Americans will be diagnosed with colorectal cancer and almost 50,000 people will die from it. Colorectal cancer is the second leading cause of death from cancer in the United States. The good news is that this cancer is 90% curable - if you catch it early enough. Unfortunately, many people don't understand how easy it is to get a colonoscopy and what the process entails.

To shed some light on this sensitive subject, Reverend Diane Sullivan, lead singer of the Dirty Blondes and art director at Seven Days, invited us along for her colonoscopy last year at the University of Vermont Medical Center in Burlington. Diane's brother Michael died suddenly of colorectal cancer in 2003 - three weeks after being diagnosed. Normally, screening is recommended for people aged 50 and up but because of Diane's family history, she gets checked regularly.

Diane hopes that, like Katie Couric, she can inspire others to take the plunge and talk to their doctors about getting screened. After all, it's better than the alternative, becoming a statistic. So make your colon health a priority and talk to your family, friends and doctor about the importance of getting screened!

Music: The Dirty Blondes, Sex the Elastic, "Crybaby" "Fig Leaf Rag" by Scott Joplin Chromatic Fantasia (BWV 930) by JS Bach Run Amok,The Builder Kevin MacLeod

Colon Animation: Bryan Parmelee

Colon Theme: Diane Sullivan & Bryan Parmelee

Medical images: Mariana Ruiz Blausen Medical Communications, Inc. National Institutes of Health

This episode of Stuck in Vermont was made possible by

Hotel Vermont and Vermont Tourism