What Are You Thankful For?

Here is the November issue of CCFA'S Newsletter Letter from our President & CEO What are you thankful for this year? At the Crohn's & Colitis Foundation, we're thankful for supporters and friends like you! You're helping us bring scientists and patients together to better understand IBD, provide much-needed support to people nationwide, improve the quality of care patients receive, and much more. Thank you for making this work possible. It means the world to people affected by IBD—including Amanda, who is running in our Thanksgiving Turkey Trot on her husband's behalf. Please take a minute to read their touching story below. Wishing you and your loved ones a healthy, happy Thanksgiving. Michael Osso President & CEO Join Amanda—and Trot for Crohn's & Colitis CURES! Team Challenge is getting ready for Thanksgiving with our third annual Turkey Trot! On Thanksgiving Day, run or walk with us anywhere in the country. We promise it will be a great way to start—or finish—your Turkey Day! Amanda (pictured on right) is thankful that her husband Ben has been healthy enough for them to start a family. Ben was diagnosed with ulcerative colitis 11 years ago. Since then, he has failed on every available medication and had many surgeries. Amanda will be doing the Turkey Trot again this year because she's "thankful for all of the support and knowledge CCFA has given [her] family, as well as the HOPE they have given [them] for a future free from IBD." Register now for only $35, and receive an awesome die-cast medal and your own bib to personalize. Hurry though, medals are limited and will sell out! REGISTER NOW ► Last Chance to Join Us in New Orleans! Beignets, music, an amazing race course, and a pasta party among the Mardi Gras floats—this is one Team Challenge event you do NOT want to miss! Training starts now, and you can walk or run the 10k, Half Marathon, or Marathon distance on the February 5th event. Team Challenge is a great way to train for your first, or next, race—but it's about so much more than the miles. We are a family that offers moral and practical support, compassion, and love. It's a transformative experience that, from start to finish, truly changes lives and helps us get one step closer to finding cures. Click here to have one of our local managers contact you to answer your questions, and help you take the first step. LEARN MORE ► Show Your Thanks for CCFA Scientists Support groundbreaking research like our IBD Qorus™ and IBD Plexus® initiatives. Take Steps and WIN! Register for a Take Steps walk in your local community and fundraise or donate $50 by December 7 to win your choice of an Apple Series 2 smartwatch or a Samsung Gear S2 smartwatch. Join us at one of our more than 60 walks in the spring and experience a sense of community and belonging that only happens when a united group comes together to celebrate our success. Get all the contest details at http://www.cctakesteps.org/smartwatch. Thank you to our Take Steps 2016 national platinum sponsor: AbbVie. REGISTER NOW ► Tips for Holiday Eating The holidays can be difficult for IBD patients when it comes to diet—but don't let this get in the way of your fun! You can always bring a dish to the event that may be IBD-friendly, or eat before you go. Check out other helpful holiday tips, review our Diet, Nutrition, and Inflammatory Bowel Disease brochure, or contact our IBD Help Center at info@ccfa.org or 888-694-8872. READ MORE ► IBD and Diet: Facebook Chat Join CCFA and Mayo Clinic’s Karen A. Hanson APRN, C.N.P. for a Facebook chat about what you can do to manage, maintain, and enhance your diet and nutrition on Wednesday, November 16 from 8-9 p.m. EST. This chat will take place as a text-based chat on CCFA's Facebook page. Submit your questions to socialmedia@ccfa.org, and Karen will respond to as many as she can during the hour! LEARN MORE ► Crohn's & Colitis Awareness Week Is Almost Here! Join us December 1-7 in educating the public about Crohn's disease and ulcerative colitis and raising critical awareness on behalf of the 1.6 million Americans living with these debilitating digestive diseases. Add our Twibbon to your social media profile picture, donate a social media post to our Thunderclap, or share your story on our website. Stay tuned for more information about Crohn's & Colitis Awareness Week! JOIN US ► Take Our Step Therapy Survey IBD patients may be subjected to step therapy, which is when an insurer requires patients to fail first on a preferred medication before covering the medication that the physician initially prescribed. To address this issue, CCFA is gearing up in 2017 to develop a step therapy education program. Please take a moment to complete this step therapy survey—and tell us how step therapy practices impact you. TAKE THE SURVEY ► CCFA provides a comprehensive database of studies, clinical trials, and other research opportunities on Crohn's disease and ulcerative colitis. Here are a few of the recently added studies: Ethical Issues in Prescription Drug Access under the Restricted Distribution Program for Tysabri is recruiting Crohn's disease patients who have been prescribed Tysabri within the past year. GEM Project: A Multidisciplinary Human Study on the Genetic, Environmental, and Microbial Interactions that Cause Inflammatory Bowel Disease is looking for Crohn's disease patients who have at least one healthy first degree relative. A Phase 3b Open-label Study to Determine the Long-Term Safety and Efficacy of Vedolizumab Subcutaneous in patients with ulcerative colitis and Crohn's disease. A Phase 3 Randomized, Double-Blind, Placebo-Controlled Study, With a Vedolizumab IV Reference Arm, to Evaluate the Efficacy and Safety of Vedolizumab Subcutaneous as Maintenance Therapy in patients with moderately to severely active ulcerative colitis. Deciding whether to participate in a clinical trial is an important personal decision, best made with a full understanding of the drug development process and a participant's role. 7​33 Th​ird Av​en​ue, Sui​te 51​0, Ne​w Y​ork,​ N​Y 10​01​7 www.ccfa.org | 8​00-​93​2-​2​423 Talk with an I​BD Info​rmation Specialist at 88​8.M​y.Gu​t.P​ain | 8​88-​69​4-8​87​2