“Get people screened:” Cologuard Classic continues to raise awareness for overlooked killer
This week’s Cologuard Classic continues to advocate for those who continue to battle colorectal cancer.
TUSCON, Ariz. — A few weeks ago, Bryan Goettel, who serves as the Advocacy Director of Exact Sciences, the company that facilitates the Cologuard test, received a message that left him speechless.
The individual who sent him this note has Stage IV colon cancer, which has now spread throughout her body and into her brain. She has been to hell and back, losing sleep and wondering if that night’s rest will be her last — all while laboring through countless rounds of chemotherapy and radiation. Yet, she is still alive, fighting every day and serving as a hero to countless others. She credits her medical team for saving her life over the past three years, but she told Goettel that the Cologuard Classic has kept her alive as much as anything. She is still here today because of this event, a reality that left Goettel at a loss for words.
Held annually in Southern Arizona since 2018, the Cologuard Classic on the PGA Tour Champions is much more than a golf tournament for the best players aged 50 and over. It’s a convention of colon cancer survivors and patients, who befriend one another, share their stories, and inspire everyone involved, from players and caddies to fans alike. Over 350 colon cancer patients and survivors descended upon Tucson this week, with many of them competing in the Pro-Am ahead of the tournament — countless pros could not hold back their emotions after their practice rounds, trying to come to grasp with what their playing partners face on a daily basis.
“The [Pro-Am] is not about me getting ready to play a golf tournament, it’s not about even looking at the golf course. I didn’t even hit any extra putts, I didn’t do anything. It’s to be there for the survivors,” said tournament host Jerry Kelly, who has turned this week his passion, cause, and fight.
“We had two [survivors] in our group today, and it just means so much to me to be able to give them something because what they’re going through and who they’ve lost, I mean, it hits you pretty deep. So to have them out there, you have to have smiles on the entire time and make sure they have the most fun they could possibly have on a golf course, show ‘em that can happen on a golf course. May not see it all that much with us. It’s just really special to be out there with them.”
Every golfer in this 78-man field is donning a blue ribbon this week, which commemorates an individual who continues to fight or has lost their battle with colon cancer. Stewart Cink, for instance, is honoring Steve DiMeglio, the award-winning golf journalist who succumbed to colorectal cancer on Jan. 1.
Kelly, meanwhile, is honoring more individuals than he can name. But here is a fact that exemplifies the jarring reality of this disease: since Kelly began hosting this event seven years ago, four colon cancer patients with whom he has played with in the Pro-Am have since passed. One individual lost his battle a mere weeks after teeing it up with Kelly.
“We played in March and he was gone by May,” Kelly said to SB Nation.
Kelly, a native of Madison, Wisconsin, has had a friendly relationship with Exact Sciences CEO Kevin Conroy for years. Conroy also hails from the area, so the two have a shared bond for their love of the Badger State.
In 2017, when Kelly turned 50 and joined the PGA Tour Champions, he bumped into Conroy at an airport. Conroy was on his way to a funeral for an individual who had passed from colon cancer while Kelly’s best childhood friend, Rob Andringa, had just received a diagnosis for the same disease. The two bonded over their shared misfortunes and vowed to try and do something about it.
The following year, Exact Sciences signed on as the presenting sponsor for the Cologuard Classic and Kelly pledged to support its cause by raising awareness for colorectal disease. He also began to wear a Cologuard hat and has hosted this tournament ever since.
“I don’t think any of us could have dreamed in 2018 that we’d be here in our seventh year doing this with almost 400 colon cancer patients and survivors,” Goettel explained.
“Some of these people have never even set foot on a golf course before. The golf is in the background, but at the same time, what it means for those individuals to see their name on a ribbon worn by a player, whether they follow golf or not, is profoundly meaningful.”
March is also Colon Cancer Awareness Month, a time for the entire American population to support those affected by this disease but also have discussions about screening for colon cancer.
“Get people screened,” Kelly emphasised.
“At 45 and older, our mission, our job is to bring awareness to everybody in the nation who’s of the age of screening. Why wouldn’t you do it? Nine out of 10 survive early detection. One out of 10 survive late detection.”
The American Cancer Society recently dropped the recommended screening age from 50 to 45. But Kelly believes that, had this edict been in place a decade ago, his best friend would still be alive today.
“He would be a survivor if he had gotten screened at 45, but why wait till 45?” Kelly asked.
“I just saw somebody who is 27 years old and received a Stage IV diagnosis and it’s like, ‘Why not make it 25?’ My job is to go a little bit further outside the box and bring up some things that really need to be said to push this campaign, push the advocacy as far down the line as we can.”
A group of colorectal advocates is headed to Washington, D.C. this week to petition the federal government to lower the screening age further. They also hope to raise further awareness about this disease in the nation’s capital, which will help save countless lives.
Change is needed because colorectal cancer is an overlooked killer: it’s the second deadliest cancer in the country, trailing only breast cancer.
Despite that, Kelly and everyone in Tucson remain hopeful about the outcome of these lobbying efforts.
But there is something ironic about the course in which this tournament is played. La Paloma Country Club, situated at the foothills of the Santa Catalina Mountains, hosted the Cologuard Classic for the first time last year, when Joe Durant took home the title. Given that Tucson sits roughly 70 miles north of the Mexican border, the second-largest city in Arizona has plenty of Latin and Spanish influence. Look no further than the name of the course itself. La Paloma translates to ‘Dove’ in Spanish, and a dove has long been a symbol for hope, love, and renewal.
That’s what the Cologuard Classic aims to do: not only raise awareness but give patients and survivors hope. And yet, a healthy dose of hope would not be possible without early detection. Get screened. Tell your loved ones. Tell your friends. Or else you too will be affected by this overlooked killer.
Jack Milko is a golf staff writer for SB Nation’s Playing Through. Follow him on X @jack_milko.