Hospital's 'Polyp Man' helps get out message: Watch your behind

Looking like a super-sized strawberry, the bulbous, bloated superhero greeted people walking into the lobby of the Grayslake Acute Care Center on Wednesday.

"Cover your butt," he said. "It's time to check your colon."

Lake Forest Hospital employee Carlos Torres got a few strange looks and a couple of laughs, but that was the point.

"It's time to get your rear in gear," he said.

Made to resemble a potentially cancerous growth, the hooded, bespectacled man with size 20 shoes was there to wake people up to a killer disease.

In recognition of March being Colorectal Cancer Awareness Month, the folks at Lake Forest Hospital and the American Cancer Society took a humorous approach to a deadly serious subject. An informational booth was set up for people to check out during their lunch hour.

"Colon cancer is the second leading cause of death," said Sheila Blindauer of Lake Forest Hospital. "We've saved a lot of lives from this promotion."

This year colorectal cancer will kill as many people as breast cancer and AIDS combined, Blindauer said. But it's 90 percent curable if caught early.

Visitors were given free "ColoCare Kits," and pamphlets packed with facts about colon cancer and its prevention. The kits allow people to test for the disease in the privacy of their home and then take the sample to their doctor for analysis.

The group, including Polyp Man, will be at Lake Forest Hospital on Friday from 11 a.m. to 1 p.m.

It gets warm inside the fiery red costume.

"Sometimes I just have to step outside and get some fresh air," Torres said.

A tall glass of cold water would be nice, but Torres said bathroom breaks are challenging.

"It's not easy to get this thing off and on," he said.

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