'Polyp Man' raises awareness of colon cancer

With a belly like a bean bag, big glasses and oversized shoes, Dirk Scheerenberg knew he looked ridiculous, but he didn't care.

Scheerenberg wasn't embarrassed to be wearing the red full-body "Polyp Man" costume as long as it caught peoples' attention.

And it did.

Scheerenberg mostly drew smiles and an occasional laugh -- although he scared a few kids -- as people passed through the visitors' entrance at Lake Forest Hospital Monday.

Scheerenberg passed out information and free home colon cancer screening kits as part of a weeklong education campaign during Colorectal Cancer Awareness Month.

"Eat more fiber, you can avoid me," he said, hugging a patient walking out the door.

The outfit, on loan from the American Cancer Society, takes a light-hearted approach to a topic that can be embarrassing for most people to ask about, he said.

"I think I'm a shock to most people who come in the door," said Scheerenberg, a 58-year-old nurse in the hospital's gastrointestinal lab. "They hesitate. It kind of slows them down just for a second and we tell them what we're looking for."

Men and women should begin screening for colorectal cancer at age 50, at 45 for blacks, and even younger if they have risk factors such as family history, he said.

"He got my attention," said Sheedeh Mahboobipoor, 41, of Gurnee, who came to the hospital for an ear procedure. "I'm a chemist so I'm always up for doing this kind of stuff … got a (screening) kit for the whole family, so that's great."

Lake Forest Hospital will distribute free screening kits throughout this week and host a physician lecture on the topic Wednesday.