Impact of Awareness Campaigns on Colorectal Cancer

Running head: HEALTHCARE
HEALTHCARE
Name of the Student:
Name of the University:
Author Note:

1HEALTHCARE
1.0. Introduction
1.1. Project background
Colorectal cancer (CRC) is considered to be one of the most common yet preventable
type of cancer. According to reports this is the third most commonly suspected cancer and is
seen to be the second leading causes of cancer to cause death in the USA. Often the process
of screening of CRC can be underutilised in comparison to the other types of cancer.
According to studies, CRC is responsible for the higher rates of deaths and diseases
especially in cases where there is prevalence of disparity among the ethnic and racial groups,
mainly seen in the among African–Americans and those living in the rurally designated areas
(Siegel, DeSantis and Jemal 2014). Public awareness often plays an important role in the
prevention of the disease along with the treatment and early diagnosis of the disease.
Therefore it is important to spread awareness through public service announcement (PSA)
(Grothey et al 2013). The following study will involve the analysis of the impact of the
awareness campaigns through the use of various methods like creation of videos, sharing
emails and others in order to create awareness about colorectal cancer.
1.2. Project objectives
i. Creating awareness for the purpose of preventing colorectal cancer.
ii. Spreading message across the national level
iii. Improvement in the quality of life
1.3. Project Methodology
Data collection will be conducted through a secondary method for this research which
will help in the assessment of the advertisements that are required for the propagation of
awareness of the colorectal cancer. Secondary data is collected from the existing research like
from various journals and other authentic sources.

2HEALTHCARE
2.0. Literature survey
2.1. Introduction to colorectal cancer
(a) Understanding colorectal cancer
While the healthy cells present in the lining of the colon or the rectum undergoes
some kind of change, there is an occurrence of colorectal cancer. The cells which goes out of
control are responsible for the formation of a mass which is called the tumor. This tumor
which is formed might be benign or cancerous. In case of colorectal cancer, the tumor
becomes malignant, meaning that this might grow and spread to the other parts of the body.
However in case of a benign tumor, there is no such incidence of tumor spread. This process
takes quite some time to develop. Often both the environmental factors along with the genetic
factors are responsible for the occurrence of the change. In cases where the individual already
has an uncommon inherited syndrome, the process takes about some months to years to
develop. The condition of the colorectal cancer mainly develops in either the colon or the
rectum (Shi, Rui, Messaris, and Cappella 2014). Therefore there are two types: the cancer
that develops in the colon is called colon cancer and the cancer that develops on the rectum is
called rectum cancer. According to the studies colon and rectal cancers are a type of tumor
called adenocarcinoma, where the cancer has taken place in the cells that line the inside tissue
of the colon and rectum. In this section the occurrence of adenocarcinoma is covered. There
are also other types of cancer which occur however in low rates in comparison to the above
however these too can begin in the colon or rectum that include the following like small cell
carcinoma, carcinoid tumor, gastrointestinal stromal tumor (GIST) and lymphoma.
(b) Significance of spreading awareness through a public service announcement (PSA)
The public service announcements or PSA represents a form of advertising that is free
or involves certain public relations which help in informing the community that plays a part
in the grabbing the attention of the people or certain organizations. PSAs involve educating