# Patrick Dempsey takes on colon cancer

> Grey's Anatomy's fake neurosurgeon fronts a real campaign about the 55,000 Americans colorectal cancer will kill this year.
- Title: Patrick Dempsey takes on colon cancer · Adweek | Shortify
- Summary: Grey's Anatomy's fake neurosurgeon fronts a real campaign about the 55,000 Americans colorectal cancer will kill this year. Screening starts at 45, and a…
- Keywords: healthcare marketing, advertising, cancer screening, celebrity endorsement, guardant health, Patrick, Dempsey, takes, colon, cancer, Adweek
- Source: Adweek — https://adweek.com/brand-marketing/patrick-dempsey-is-the-new-face-of-guardant-healths-the-reckoning-campaign
- Author: Andrea Michelson
- Published: 2026-09-15T19:52:54+00:00
- Read time: 1 min
- Topics: healthcare marketing, advertising, cancer screening, celebrity endorsement, guardant health
## Dr. Shepherd goes oncology
Patrick Dempsey, the neurosurgeon of Grey's Anatomy, fronts a new Guardant Health campaign pushing Americans to screen early for colorectal cancer.
## A wall of names
The spot, called "The Reckoning," puts Dempsey in front of names and ages of people killed by the disease, some as young as 49. It says 55,000 more Americans will die this year.
## Guardant's biggest swing yet
This is the company's first effort at this scale: a national, multi-million dollar buy running across major cable, streaming, and digital as of Monday.
## 54 million people overdue
Colorectal cancer is now the second-leading cause of cancer death in the US, and it kills more people under 50 than any other cancer. Rates among younger adults keep climbing.

> Despite decades of access to other screening tests, more than 54 million Americans remain overdue for screening.
## A blood test, not a scope
Guardant launched Shield in 2022. The FDA approved it in 2024 as the first blood test to count as a primary screening option, and the American Cancer Society has since added it to its guidelines.
## Why Dempsey said yes
He founded the Dempsey Center in 2008 while his mother fought ovarian cancer; she died in 2014. That history shaped a campaign built to name the people behind the numbers.

> We wanted the campaign to reflect the real human impact of cancer and make sure the people and families behind the statistics remained at the center of the story.
## Key takeaway

Screening starts at 45, and a blood test now counts as a real first option, so the old excuse of dreading a colonoscopy no longer holds.