To raise public awareness on colorectal cancer, Merck Korea hosted an event Friday with its employees and medical experts, the company said Monday.

The local office of the multinational pharmaceutical firm held a lecture on ways to raise Koreans‘ awareness of colorectal cancer and how to treat the disease. 

The event was part of global campaign programs designed to provide relevant information and the awareness of the disease. March is the month designated by the Global Colon Cancer Association where those in the medical industry worldwide hold various events.

Korea ranks top in the colorectal cancer disease rate in Asian countries and No. 3 in across the globe.

Cases of colorectal cancer have been growing with a 5.2 percent annual increase, the company said.

Beside the genetic factor, colorectal cancer is known to be caused by poor eating habits and lack of physical activities.

“Merck is making efforts to (heighten) the awareness of colorectal cancer for not only patients and medical experts, but also people in general, to have proper information and awareness (of) the disease,” said Michael Grund, managing director of Merck Korea.

The company also held a ”Dress in Blue day“ event on March 7th, encouraging employees to wear blue clothes, as well as a quiz event on the 11th to deliver pertinent information, including on the prevention, diagnosis and treatment of colorectal cancer through a healthy lifestyle, the company added.

By Cho Chung-un (christory@heraldcorp.com)