Update 5:31 p.m. EDT Oct. 29: In a tweet, the Kansas City Police Department said it has recovered the inflatable colon that was stolen earlier this month. The department said a tip led officers to a vacant house in Kansas City, where the 10-foot, 150-pound inflatable replica of a colon was found.
No one in custody yet and the investigation is continuing, police said.
Update 12:01 a.m. EDT Oct. 27: Salix Pharmaceuticals, based out of Bridgewater, New Jersey, said its employees raised the funds needed to replace the inflatable colon that had been stolen.
In a statement, Salix senior vice president Mark McKenna said the vote was unanimous by employees to donate the necessary funds.
“There’s nothing better than making a difference in the health care community,” McKenna said. “This is what motivates us every single day.”
Original report: This might be a little tough to digest.
A 10-foot, 150-pound inflatable colon used to teach about the dangers of colon cancer was stolen from the University of Kansas Cancer Center, KMBC reported.
The colon, valued at $4,000, was stolen from the bed of a parked pickup truck in Kansas City, KMBC reported. It was in Kansas City for a walk/run event scheduled for Saturday in Swope Park, the St. Louis Post-Dispatch reported.
“Colorectal cancer screening is the most powerful weapon we have against colorectal cancer,” John Ashcraft, surgical oncologist at the University of Kansas Cancer Center, said in a news release Friday. “Colon cancer is a tough subject for many to talk about and the giant, 150-pound, 10-foot-long inflatable colon is a great conversation starter.”
The Cancer Coalition ships the inflatable item across the country for walkers and runners to see and learn about the progression of colon cancer in a unique way, according to a news release.
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