It was not a picture-perfect golf day, but celebrities braved the rain and hit the fairway right here in Connecticut to fight against cancer.
The "Today" Show’s Craig Melvin and his wife, sports reporter Lindsay Czarniak, hosted the “The Bottoms Up Invitational” to benefit Colorectal Cancer Alliance.
Like so many of us, cancer is all too personal for the couple, who reside in Connecticut.
Melvin’s older brother was diagnosed with stage 4 colorectal cancer at 39.
Get top local stories in Connecticut delivered to you every morning. Sign up for NBC Connecticut's News Headlines newsletter.
“And he died at 43. And during his life and his fight, we became involved with the Colorectal Cancer Alliance to try and end this disease in our lifetime," said Melvin.
Czarniak's father was diagnosed with rectal cancer in 2011.
“In my dad’s case, he is still fighting, and he is very healthy at this point and that’s only because of the research and the money that goes towards that,” she explained.
Local
In its second year, the two-day fundraiser kicked off Sunday with a star-studded concert at the Total Mortgage Arena in Bridgeport, headlined by Hootie & the Blowfish.
That was followed by Monday’s golf tournament at Shorehaven Golf Club in Norwalk and a scorecard filled with the names of lots of familiar friends, faces, and early morning risers too, like the "Today" Show’s Dylan Dreyer.
“It takes a lot for people to show up on a rainy day but we’re all here to support Craig and his mission and Lindsay,” Dreyer said.
But the weather didn’t put a damper on the day. Just ask the "Today" Show’s Carson Daly.
“I’m here for a good cause, I don’t care about the weather. Bars are open, good friends are here for a good reason. What more could you need?” he said.
At last check, Melvin and Czarniak helped raise more than $1.2 million this weekend alone for the Colorectal Cancer Alliance and you can still donate.
Money raised will help provide care for patients, fund research for a cure, and make sure people do this:
“I think the most important message that we can tell people is to get screened,” said Michael Sapienza, the CEO of Colorectal Cancer Alliance.
His mother passed away from colon cancer in 2009.
“If you are 45 years or older or if you have a family history [get screened at] 40, or 10 years prior to your relative being diagnosed with colon cancer,” he explained about getting screened.
You can find more details here.
But Sapienza stresses that you listen to your body if its presenting you with symptoms sooner.
“If you’re under 45, make sure you're your own advocate. Blood in stool, change of bowel habits, unexpected weight loss, etc. go see your doctor and demand to get a screening," said Sapienza.
One-hundred-fifty-three-thousand Americans will be diagnosed with colorectal cancer in 2023, according to the alliance.
“It’s a taboo topic and I think a part of Bottom’s Up is just leaning into the quirkiness of it and the whole thing. Just talking about it and letting people know what they need to know,” said Czarniak.
There’s no question, the couple is using their popularity and on-air TV ease to make a disease that’s tough to talk about digestible.
“People don’t like to talk about their colons or rectums or blood in their stool or colon cancer, no one likes to talk about it so, part of our mission is to sort of demystify the disease,” said Melvin.