FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE

Contact:
Hannah Vogler
(501)666-1990
(501)425-2626
hannahvogler@colondar.com



YOUNG COLORECTAL CANCER SURVIVORS FROM NASHVILLE
AREA EDUCATE OTHERS IN UNCONVENTIONAL WAY:
MODEL FOR 2005 COLONDAR


Sara Hatcher was only 26 and Melissa Parker just 34 when both young women were diagnosed with colon cancer. At the time, neither one could have guessed that one day, they would go to such extraordinary lengths to educate others about the disease that could have taken both of their lives.

Sara, now 28, is featured as Miss August and Melissa, now 36, is featured as Miss June in the 2005 Colondar – a 12-month wall calendar of beautiful young female colorectal cancer survivors. Each month of the 2005 Colondar features a young woman along with a short biography chronicling her individual experience with colorectal cancer.

The 2005 Colondar is the newest project of The Colon Club, a nonprofit organization dedicated to educating about colorectal cancer in out-of-the-box ways. Sara and Molly McMaster, co-founder of The Colon Club, had been emailing for about a year. After Sara was diagnosed, she had written to Molly, “I became obsessed with wanting to tell everyone (about colorectal cancer), to warn them – but I didn’t know what kind of outlet I could use to do that and if anyone would be interested.”

Seeing Sara’s desire to educate others, Molly knew that she would be a perfect model for the Colondar. She also asked Sara if she knew of anyone else who might be interested. Sara knew Melissa, and soon the Colondar had two more models.

Sara and Melissa met in October of 2003 after Melissa saw Sara on her church’s prayer list. “I thought it was strange to see another young mother as a cancer survivor, although I didn’t know she had colon cancer,” said Melissa. “I thought we might have something in common, so I sent her a note through a nurse I knew.” Sara received Melissa’s note on her very last day of chemo and called Melissa that same night. The two soon found that they had a lot in common – they live very close to each other, are both young mothers, share many of the same values, and of course they are both young colon cancer survivors.

“It was comforting to meet someone else who had gone through the same thing I was going through,” said Sara. “I didn’t know anyone else around my age with cancer, so I was really happy to meet Melissa, especially when we found out how much we have in common other than colon cancer.”

In July of this year, Sara and Melissa met ten other young survivors when they all came together in upstate New York for the 2005 Colondar photo shoot. “None of us are professional models, and it was definitely out of character for me to pose in my bathing suit. But even if I was a little bit nervous about modeling, it was worth it to turn our experiences into education for others,” said Sara. Melissa agreed, saying, “The Colondar could save someone’s life – and I think all the models agree that it is worth any concern on our part. We just have to make sure that as many people as possible see the Colondar.”

Sara and Melissa both live outside Nashville with their husbands and children. They stay in touch with each other and with the other Colondar models.

The price of 2005 Colondar is $15.00. Visit www.colondar.com to order your very own 2005 Colondar!