ROCHESTER, N.Y. — Mention the word colonoscopy, and the mere reference can often elicit a cringe. But doctors say the procedure is also the easiest way to prevent a potentially deadly disease, which they say is among the most preventable.
March is Colorectal Cancer Awareness Month. One salon owner is helping spread the message and convince people to get screened. For her, it’s personal.
Renee Tilburg loves her job and she loves her clients, many of whom are just like family. She also loves the social aspect.
“It’s awesome," said Tilburg, owner of Artistic Hair Salon in Clifton Springs. “We talk about everything.”
This time of year, many of the conversations are lit by the blue lights she hangs in her front windows every March.
“Oh my gosh, people love the lights,” she said.
The blue lights adorn the front windows of her shop. The blue ribbons were placed throughout the salon. They are all done in honor of Tilburg’s mother, Darlene.
“Unfortunately, she passed away from colon cancer,” she said. “So I decided to do both windows blue to really make a statement, to really get people to talk.”
March is Colorectal Cancer Awareness Month. Blue is the color signifying the disease. Aside from the lights and the ribbons, Tilburg has informational literature about colon cancer screenings all over her salon. They’re not just a tribute, they are a conversation starter.
“I talk about my mom a lot,” said Tilburg. “And I talk about the importance of getting screened. How it affected my family, how it could affect their family.”
The recommended age for colon cancer screenings for people with no family history of the disease is now 45 years of age. It used to be 50. Doctors are treating more and more younger people who have the disease.
“The biggest hang-up people express to us around getting their colonoscopies is that they really don’t like the prep,” said Hannah Farley, who manages the University of Rochester Medical Center’s Cancer Services Program of the Finger Lakes.
The program helps uninsured people with screenings for several types of cancer, including colorectal. Farley notes there are a number of less-invasive screening methods available for those who don’t want a traditional colonoscopy.
“I think the most important thing to know is that colon cancer does not often have symptoms, especially when it's very early on,” said Farley.
Tilburg is happy to help get that message out to clients, or anyone else who stops by her salon.
“I don’t raise money,” she said, “I just try to have a conversation about it. That’s why I do it. So people talk.”
Tilburg first decorated her windows pink in 2018. The color signifies breast cancer, of which her mom was a 19-year survivor before her colon cancer diagnosis.
“She was afraid to go for a colonoscopy,” she said. “I’m not exactly sure why, but she was.”
Tilburg’s mother died in September 2020, but not before she was able to see the window display.
“I just wanted her to know that she meant that much to me,” said Tilburg. ”That this is about her.”
It's a tribute and a reminder of conversations she knows are saving lives. Tilburg says several of her clients have scheduled colon cancer screenings after their visits to her salon, and one woman in particular told her it led to a cancer diagnosis. It was caught early enough and she is now recovered, and cancer-free.
“That is worth it right there,” she said. “Just one person. That’s worth it.”
