An important part of the work of Felix Burda Stiftung is launching publicity campaigns that tell people about early diagnosis as the key to success and motivate them to get a preventive medical check-up. But how can prevention be improved from a medical point of view? How can training for general practitioners be optimized? How can the quality of early diagnosis be raised? And: How can the treatment and the preparation for a colonoscopy be made more patient friendly? These are some of the questions the association “Network against Colon Cancer” deals with.

The association was set up in 2004 on the initiative of Christa Maar, president of Felix Burda Foundation, Meinhard Classen, a former director of the Technical University of Munich’s policlinic, and Berndt Birkner, president of the gastroenterology section of the German Internist Association.

“Network against Colon Cancer” works nationwide and is Germany’s most important independent association committed to the early diagnosis of colon cancer. It has about 220 members from the fields of public health, politics, business, science and medicine. The association brings together health care politicians, representatives of medical insurance companies, other companies and medical associations to improve colon cancer prevention in Germany. The association’s objective is to reduce the mortality rate from currently 38 percent to less than 20 percent in 2015. The association’s expenses are covered by the Bavarian medical insurance companies, members and sponsors.

For more information please refer to www.netzwerk-gegen-darmkrebs.de.