The history of the Colorectal Cancer Alliance

On March 18, a group of more than 40 survivors, caregivers, and friends founded the organization. The first annual meeting of the Colon Cancer Alliance was held in Washington, D.C. A board of directors was appointed, and a committee structure was put in place for the work group.
 

The Alliance grew from an all volunteer group to an organization of about 10 people who created the first toll-free Helpline, buddy program, chat room, financial assistance program, national conference bringing together patients with medical expertise, and Undy 5000, which would later become known as the Walk to End Colon Cancer. In February 2000, President Bill Clinton designated March as National Colorectal Cancer Awareness Month.
 

DC ScopeItOut is created, originally as a 5K run/walk, bringing together 4,000 people — the largest crowd ever to gather for colorectal cancer.
 

Dress in Blue Day is launched nationwide by the Alliance and Anita Mitchell Isler, a stage IV survivor, who started the initiative at her son's school in 2006 after losing a close friend and her father to the disease. The recognition day increases awareness of colorectal cancer and shows support for all who are affected. The private Facebook group Blue Hope Nation is created to unite thousands of allies for peer-to-peer support. On Mother’s Day 2009, Michael Sapienza lost his mother, Chris, to colon cancer at age 59. 
 

Michael, his family, and close friends started the Chris4Life Colon Cancer Foundation in memory of his mother (the Foundation later merged with and became part of the Alliance).

Blue Hope Bash, the Alliance’s premier fundraising event series, is launched in Washington D.C., raising $150,000. Chris4Life gains momentum for its successful campaigns and creative and personal mission.
 

Chris4Life started a research fund, and expanded the ScopeItOut 5K to eight cities across the country. The Alliance received a $6 million gift, propelling the cause to heights.
 

The Colon Cancer Alliance merged with the Chris4Life Colon Cancer Foundation. Together, the organizations became the largest nonprofit dedicated to colorectal cancer in the United States.
 

The Colon Cancer Alliance became the Colorectal Cancer Alliance to represent both colon and rectal cancers better. A new brand, with "nation of allies" as a central theme, was created to unite thousands who shared the mission of ending colorectal cancer. 
 

The Alliance launched March Forth, a first-of-its-kind screening effort in Philadelphia to save underserved lives. The Alliance also launched its Patient and Family Journey, a portal for patients to get customized support online and the predecessor of BlueHQ.

The Alliance’s programs to screen, care, and cure are positioned to save 100,000 lives over 10 years, reach 750,000 patients in their families, and invest tens of millions in research. The Undy RunWalk was rebranded as the Walk to End Colon Cancer and expanded to more than 20 cities.
 

In response to the pandemic, the Colorectal Cancer Alliance established the Care During COVID-19 Fund to make possible the patient support programs our community needed most during the crisis. The Alliance also launched a screening navigation program that included an online screening assessment tool (quiz.getscreened.org) to help people learn about screening options based on their personal risk factors. Ally to Ally is launched offering meaningful connections and moderated message boards on specific topics for all allies.

The United States Preventive Services Task Force (USPSTF) updated its colorectal cancer screening guidelines, lowering the recommended age to begin screening from 50 to 45, making 20 million more people eligible to get screened. The Alliance’s first Cycles of Impact in Philly is launched with a $2.5 million gift.
 

Lead From Behind, the Alliance’s groundbreaking awareness initiative with Ryan Reynolds and Rob McElhenney, is launched with an impact of 25 million video viewers and a 36% increase in colonoscopy appointments made through ZocDoc. In 2023, the initiative featured Terry Crews and Dak Prescott. 

BlueHQ is launched to provide colorectal cancer patients and caregivers with an online personalized platform to get customized health information. The Alliance secured a $5 million gift to seed its Health Equity efforts, and launched Project Cure CRC with a goal of funding $50 million in research to help end the disease. Meanwhile, some progress is seen as the CRC incidence rate disparity gap between Black Americans and non-Hispanic whites is narrowed by 5%.