Love for Boseman
- Actor Chadwick Boseman died at age 43 after a four-year battle with colon cancer.
- Yesterday would’ve been his 44th birthday; many took to social media to honor him, and Disney created a special tribute, too.
- This year, there will be approximately 104,610 new cases of colon cancer in the U.S.; screening for the disease can help reduce the risk of getting it.
Tributes for Boseman
Actors such as Lupita Nyong'o and Michael B. Jordan paid tribute, along with others, to Boseman in honor of his birthday, as did Disney. Jordan posted a picture of the two embracing and wrote: “Continue watching over us King. Happy Birthday. Miss you.”View this post on Instagram
Nyong’o, who starred in Black Panther with Boseman, also shared a sweet picture of the pair all dressed up, and wrote, “Deeply loved, sorely missed.”
View this post on Instagram
Rapper Common took to Twitter and said, “Chadwick Boseman would have turned 44 years old today. Happy Birthday, King. God Bless You. Thank you for using your gift to bring light to this world. RIP.”
Chadwick Boseman would have turned 44 years old today. Happy Birthday King. God Bless You. Thank you for using your gift to bring light to this world. RIP. pic.twitter.com/Nv8jS2YcUE
— COMMON (@common) November 29, 2020
And as a special treat for Marvel and Black Panther fans, a tribute to Boseman could be seen on Disney+ before the film. Disney’s Executive Chairman, Robert Iger, wrote on Twitter: “To all fans of #BlackPanther: watch the film on #DisneyPlus late tonight, for a special tribute to someone that was and will always be near and dear to our hearts.” Marvel shared the special intro on Twitter, which featured an epic montage of videos and pictures of Boseman interspersed with the traditional Marvel movie-intro, that so many fans have come to know and love.
Long live the King. #WakandaForever pic.twitter.com/uW1KisOkTq
— Marvel Entertainment (@Marvel) November 29, 2020
Reducing Cancer Risks
Boseman’s colon cancer battle was able to raise greater awareness around this type of cancer, as well as others. There are specific things men can do to try to reduce their risk of cancer. These include getting a colonoscopy, doing a PSA test (which stands for prostate specific antigens test, and screens for prostate cancer, using sunscreen, and, if you’re a smoker, quitting smoking.
10 Things Every Man Should Do to Prevent Cancer
Colon Cancer Awareness
In 2020, there will be approximately 104,610 new cases of colon cancer in the U.S., according to the American Cancer Society (ACS). Screening for this disease can help reduce the risk of getting it. A colonoscopy is one of the primary ways to screen for colon cancer.
Guidelines suggest to start screening for colon cancer at age 45 unless there is a history of colon cancer in your family. Dr. Heather Yeo, a Colorectal Surgeon and Surgical Oncologist at Weill Cornell Medicine and NewYork-Presbyterian, told SurvivorNet in an earlier interview, “If you have any family history of colon cancer, you should be screened about 10 years before your family member had colon cancer.”
Dr. Yeo also said in an earlier interview that knowing your options is important when it comes to treating this disease. “If you have stage one to three cancer, that usually means that you need surgery. Traditionally, patients usually have open surgery, meaning they had a big incision through their belly and then we would go through that incision in the belly to take out the tumor. Now more recently, we’ve been using minimally invasive techniques, meaning making much smaller incisions and long instruments that go through the body wall and then we use a little camera to look inside the body.”
Surgery is one of several options used to treat colon cancer. The treatment approach typically depends on what stage the disease is in and how far it has progressed.
Choosing the Right Surgery for Your Colon Cancer
Learn more about SurvivorNet's rigorous medical review process.
