VOLUME 12 | ISSUE 10
WEEK OF MARCH 27, 2025
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Local doctor urges early colon cancer screening BY HALEY LENA HLENA@COLORADOCOMMUNITYMEDIA.COM
A Parker family plays a game of cribbage on a large board that they built in front of two witnesses for a Guinness World Record attempt to have the world’s PHOTO BY HALEY LENA largest cribbage board.
World’s largest cribbage board is family’s goal Game tradition was passed down through generations BY HALEY LENA HLENA@COLORADOCOMMUNITYMEDIA.COM
No timers, no teams — just a deck of cards, a 10-by-3 inch board with small holes, small wooden pegs and a goal to get the 121st point. This is all a player needs to play the centuries-old game cribbage. The card game dates back to the 1600s, and is said to be derived from an English poet, Sir John Suckling. It’s traditionally played with
two players who advance across the board by using card combinations of pairs, threeof-a-kinds, straights or card groups that add up to the number 15 to score points. “You have to be very lucky or you have to be very skilled,” said Parker resident Allison Denny. “Sometimes, even if you’re very skilled, the luck needs to be there for you to actually win.” But Allison Denny’s family is bringing the game to new heights, as they aim to have the world’s largest cribbage board. Allison and her older sister, Emily, who now lives in Europe, were first introduced to the game at a young age by their mother, Paula Coffee, who was excited to share with her kids all of the Italian games she used to
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play while growing up. Paula’s maternal grandparents were both from Campobello di Mazara in the province of Trapani, Sicily. Her grandfather came to the United States in 1905 and her grandmother in 1910. The family began to play cribbage shortly after arriving in the U.S., and it quickly became a family tradition and was passed down through generations. Paula learned how to play cribbage when she was 11 years old, often staying up all night playing with her siblings. “We had seven kids in our family and not a lot of money, so we played cards a lot,” Paula said.
Colon cancer is the second leading cause of cancer death in the United States, according to the American Cancer Society. But gastroenterologist Dr. Carlene Chun says it’s totally avoidable if people get screened early enough. Over the last 30 years, doctors have found that the incidence of colon cancer has dramatically increased nationally in people 40 to 50 years old. Parallel to national findings, the Colorado Cancer Coalition found these diagnoses are increasing for Coloradans younger than the age of 50. Due to the increase in diagnoses in a younger population, the American Cancer Society and the U.S. Preventative Services Task Force recommends that the age to start getting a colonoscopy is 45. “We really want to urge (people) to come in to be screened so we can find these lesions SEE SCREENING, P8
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