World, March 7, 2010 (Pal Telegraph) -It was so surreal, it could pass for a Nuit Blanche exhibit: Under the skylight in the atrium of Toronto's Dufferin Mall, outside Walmart and Best Buy, sat a giant inflatable colon.

Gathered around it were a couple dozen mall-goers, mostly in their sixties and older, and a handful of journalists. A sugary smell from the nearby Cinnabon hung in the air, silently asking what a large-scale, fully digested cinnamon bun might look like if it were nestled inside.

After a brief presentation, a handful of representatives from Cancer Care Ontario stood by the colon's entrance for a ribbon-cutting ceremony and photo shoot. Shortly after, members of the public began walking inside the 40-foot-long, eight-foot-high tube, poking at dimly lit polyps and bulges as TV screens explained where poo comes from and how to identify diseases such as ulcerative colitis or Crohn's.

It was all part of the Giant Colon Exhibit, which is currently touring in Ontario to promote Colorectal Cancer Awareness Month; it will eventually travel across Canada.

This year, an estimated 22,000 people will be diagnosed with this type of cancer and 9,100 will die from the disease. It's the second-leading cause of cancer death in the country.

Barry Stein, president of the Colorectal Cancer Association of Canada, has suffered from it himself -- he had nine surgeries before fully recovering and, at the time, made a deal that if he survived, he'd give back to the community in some way to prevent others from going through this experience.

"One of the first questions people ask me," he said, "is, ‘Why are you doing this? Why are you going around the country with this very long colon?'" That's when he tells his story.

But Terrence Sullivan, president and CEO of Cancer Care Ontario, explains further: "The Giant Colon brings a very important message -- that we can all play an active role in understanding what happens in the colon... while screening is on the rise, there's much more we need to do."

According to his colleague, Dr. Linda Rabeneck, Ontario has one of the highest rates worldwide for colorectal cancer.

"Almost everyone in this province knows someone who was diagnosed with the disease," she said.

So far, most provinces in Canada have stepped up to launch awareness campaigns and screening programs -- Newfoundland is the only one that hasn't -- but there's still a long way to go; after all, one doesn't often encounter marathons or ribbon campaigns supporting prevention, treatment or research of colorectal cancer.

"It's hard for people to talk about their bowels," said Sullivan, "which is why we're trying to be lighthearted about it and say, ‘Hey, this is what your colon looks like inside,' and it's been very positive. It's catchy, there's good recognition of our ads and posters, and I think the message is getting across."

For more info, see colorectal-cancer.ca.