by Zack Getty
Fight Colorectal Cancer (Fight CRC) is a patient advocacy organization focused on curing colorectal cancer while supporting and empowering our community of patients, caregivers and families.
Based in Springfield, Missouri but active nationally, Fight CRC was founded in 2005 to get the voice of advocates heard. We focus on systemic change to increase awareness and funding for colorectal cancer research while supporting those impacted by this disease. We do this through advocacy efforts, such as calling on our state and federal representatives to promote impactful legislation and directly participating in the research process with our Research Advocacy Training and Support (RATS) program, which trains research-minded advocates to bring the patient perspective to cancer research. We also produce education and awareness campaigns and form strategic partnerships with like-minded organizations such as FORCE. We realize that change takes all of us, and we will not slow down until we reach our goal: finding a cure.
In recognition of our 20th anniversary in 2025, we have launched our More Time campaign. More Time highlights what matters most to those affected by colorectal cancer and encourages advocates and those impacted by this disease to share what motivates them to fight. Whether you are fighting for more friendship time, more advocacy time or simply more time to spend with those you love, everyone is fighting for something. We aim to honor and promote those stories with this campaign.
If you’ve been diagnosed with CRC, know someone who has, or you simply want to help raise awareness, join our fight. We invite you to attend our in-person events, volunteer to raise awareness or simply share your story with us. We host our flagship event, Call-on Congress, every year in March in Washington, D.C. It is an opportunity to meet with your elected officials to advocate for policy change. While registration for 2025 is closed, you can advocate in other ways, such as signing up for our emails. We frequently send out “action alerts” that can help you engage in advocacy, even if you can’t join us in person.
Our United in Blue installation consists of over 27,000 blue flags planted on the national mall, one flag representing each person under age 50 projected to be diagnosed with CRC by 2030. This year, you can come to D.C. to join us or you can request an At Home Flag Kit and plant blue flags in your area to support this important message.
Our mission is clear, and our message is unapologetically loud. We hope to have you on our team!
About the author: I am Fight Colorectal Cancer’s Education Manager, and I joined the organization in August 2022. I come from a healthcare background and am thrilled to use that experience to help patients, caregivers and providers better understand this disease and how it affects those impacted by it. I fight to make sure no one goes through a cancer diagnosis unprepared and without the resources and information they need to advocate for themselves or their loved ones. This work is important, and I am fortunate to be surrounded by amazing team members who take this fight personally.