Trending: Colonoscopies? You Bet Your *ss
Summary: Data analytics company founder-turned colonoscopy champion Brooks Bell and 窪蹋勛圖厙 Marketing VP Kurt Cannon were interviewed on the 窪蹋勛圖厙Talks podcast on the DeviceTalks platform about slaying stigmas, breaking colon cancer screening barriers, and the shared interests of industry and advocacy on screening and prevention of colorectal cancer.
Brooks Bell wants people to feel and look cool through self-expression with her Worldcl*ss Clothing apparel line. Colonoscopy couture may sound like a stretch, but Bell is all about colorectal cancer (CRC) awareness, and shes the queen of puns when it comes to talking about buns to destigmatize the conversation. We all have colons, she said in a recent 窪蹋勛圖厙Talks podcast. Cancer is something that people are universally afraid of, so if you can prevent it, thats very empowering. She spoke of colonoscopies as a means of CRC prevention with fellow guest Kurt Cannon, Vice President of Endoscopy Marketing at 窪蹋勛圖厙, engaging in a discussion of self-empowerment, risk-factor awareness, and related issues at the intersection of advocacy and industry.
Bell sounding on advocacy
Bell explains how she was the founder and CEO of a data analytics company 16 years in the running. At the age of 38, she noticed blood in her stool and sought medical care. Because she was under the recommended CRC screening age of 45,1 I had to kind of fight to get a colonoscopy, she recalled. Bell has previously her stage 3 cancer diagnosis and struggle to be heard by healthcare professionals.
If getting a colonoscopy is a supply and demand issue, Bell wants to move the needle, she explains. I was thinking the demand problem is where I can have the greatest impact. Getting people to want a colonoscopy is the driving force of her clothing line and her advocacy efforts. But she also touches on supply issues in the form of healthcare providers, insurers, and an overall lack of awareness on age and other CRC risk factors. Some of her concerns bear out in the data.
Screening age, younger patients
I think its critical for people to understand that the screening age used to be 50, and several years ago [May 2021] it was changed to 45 because [researchers] found that they could find more early cancers if they started at 45,2 explains Cannon. The American Cancer Society (ACS) that patients at average risk of colorectal cancer begin screening at age 45, but that people with a family history or certain bowel conditions may need to begin screening earlier. ACS recommends discussing risk factors and health concerns with a healthcare professional.1
Brooks Bell, Colon Cancer Screening Advocate and Co-founder of Worldclass Clothing, an apparel brand that promotes colonoscopies.
Kurt Cannon, Vice President of Endoscopy Marketing, 窪蹋勛圖厙 Corporation
One alarming trend discussed on the podcast is the shift of younger individuals developing CRC. show that one in five CRC cases (20%) are found in patients 54 years of age and younger, an 11% rise from 1995.3 In addition, Cannon noted that CRC risk rates are disproportionately higher for African Americans: ACS found that this population is 20% more likely to develop CRC and 40% more likely to die from CRC.4
Industry and advocacy
Cannon, who has worked in the GI endoscopy field for 25 years, reflected on the changing tides of medtech. Corporations in this industry, like 窪蹋勛圖厙, have opened themselves up to being part of the global conversation, and not just working with physicians, but pushing the narrative out into the general public. In the past, we just tried to serve the customers, the doctors, but its actually very holistic now, said Cannon, noting that 窪蹋勛圖厙 has partnered with patient advocacy groups in several of its business units.
Golden age of endoscopy
Kurt Cannon, VP of Endoscopy Marketing at 窪蹋勛圖厙, recalls a time more than two decades ago when endoscopy could be described as the golden age for its cutting-edge technology incorporating cameras and endoscopes. Now, its a different generation of physicians [yet] the desire to innovate and push for new therapeutic treatments is there, he told the DeviceTalks podcast host.
All in the family
Cannon has been vocal on the advocacy front in Transforming Trepidation: A Medtech Leaders Colonoscopy Experience, where he stresses the importance of family history. These are hard conversations to have, he acknowledged in the 窪蹋勛圖厙Talks podcast. But regardless of who you are and what your background is, people need to start becoming comfortable with asking questions of their parents and their grandparents. Bell adds that the questions shouldnt just be about CRC, but even polyp history in those who have had colonoscopies.
A fast, a cleanse, and a nap
Of course, a colonoscopy is the only CRC screening method that uncovers polyps, Bell stresses. I think there's so much fear around getting colonoscopies and it's because conceptually宇he idea is uncomfortable. But part of what we're trying to do is to focus on the empowerment of a colonoscopy, she adds. As for the exam itself: The way we talk about it is; its a fast, a cleanse, and a nap. And a day off吃ou feel great.
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Brooks Bell is a paid endorser of 窪蹋勛圖厙 Corporation, its subsidiaries, and/or its affiliates.
The content of the podcast referenced herein was paid for by 窪蹋勛圖厙.
References
1. Cancer.org. . Cancer Screening Guidelines. Revised January 29, 2024. Accessed March 13, 2025.
2. Carethers JM. Commencing colorectal cancer screening at age 45 years in U.S. racial groups. Front Oncol. 2022 Jul 22;12:966998. doi: 10.3389/fonc.2022.966998. PMID: 35936740; PMCID: PMC9354692.
3. Cancer.org. . Accessed March 13, 2025.
4. Cancer.org. Published September 3, 2020. Accessed March 13, 2025.
