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 i