A new study shows that African Americans have the lowest colon cancer survival rate. The researchers think the racial gap may be due to a few different factors including colon cancer screening and treatments given.

The study included 14,000 adults diagnosed with colon cancer or rectal cancer. Eleven percent where African Americans, all had health insurance. They were the most likely to die of their disease, were more likely to be diagnosed with advanced tumors and less likely than whites to undergo colorectal cancer surgery.

Tumor stage and treatment seem to account for the racial gap in survival but the researchers think there might be other factors they are not aware of at this time.

When we memorialize someone at the time of death, we often refer to the date of birth and the date of death. These numbers tell us something -- like the age of the person -- but they don't say much about the life that fills the gap between start date and end date. They don't tell of the life that was surely full of ups and downs and victories and struggles. And happiness and joy and sadness and sorrow. And family and friends and jobs and hobbies. They don't do justice to the true stuff of life that is so much more important than numbers. But there is something important about these two sets of numbers -- something that when really examined, tells the full story. This important something -- the dash.

The dash that separates these static numbers is what tells the story of life. So consider your own dash when contemplating life, while determining how to spend your time and fill your days. Make your dash matter. Make it worthwhile. Make it something that people will talk about long after your own numbers become a matter of permanent record. And when you memorialize loved ones in the future, think about what their dashes mean. Talk about them, remember them, honor them. And pass on this link -- www.thedashmovie.com -- so others will consider the meaning that flows from each simple dash.