Avon Foundation for Women Launches Global #CheckYourself Campaign for Breast Cancer Awareness Month

NEW YORK, Oct. 1, 2014 /PRNewswire/ -- Today, on the first day of Breast Cancer Awareness Month, the Avon Foundation for Women launches a powerful new call to action: #CheckYourself. Launching in the United States and 25 countries around the world, #CheckYourself is the latest step in the Avon Breast Cancer Crusade, which raises funds and awareness for critical research and access to care programs. #CheckYourself aims to cut through the confusion related to screening strategies and encourages women to take control of their own breast health with three simple steps:  Know Your Risks. Know Your Body. Talk To Your Doctor.

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#CheckYourself will launch with a social media campaign featuring the release of an exciting new music video created with and led by acclaimed singer, songwriter and choreographer Paula Abdul.  Abdul's video includes a song and dance based on the simple steps a person would take to check themselves for breast cancer.   

Additionally, a #CheckYourself web portal has been launched to help people better navigate complicated breast health information and simplify the steps necessary for optimum outcomes in breast cancer screening, detection and treatment.  Breast cancer is the most common type of cancer among women with nearly 1.7 million new cases globally this year – and 232,670 new cases in the United States alone.

Four Ways to Join the Avon Breast Cancer Crusade this October

1. Visit the #CheckYourself Web Portal: Get answers to your questions about when and how often to get a mammogram, whether you should do monthly Breast Self-Exams (BSE), and whether you can reduce your personal risk of getting breast cancer at www.avonfoundation.org/checkyourself. Send friends to the site so they can understand their own breast cancer risks and the best risk reduction and detection strategies.

2. Watch the Check Yourself Music Video and Create Your Own: Watch the #CheckYourself video featuring Paula Abdul and support the global movement by spreading the word. Even better, educate others about their breast health by creating a personal dance video and sharing it on Facebook with the #CheckYourself hashtag.

3. Donate & Shop Pink: Make a tax deductible donation to the Avon Foundation on AvonFoundation.org, or purchase an Avon Pink Ribbon product on avon.com.  A portion of the proceeds will benefit the Avon Breast Cancer Crusade, which supports awareness and education, screening and diagnosis, access to care, support services and scientific research.

4. Get Active: Join the Avon Walks for Breast Cancer in New York (October 18-19) or Charlotte (October 25-26). If you're not ready to lace up your sneakers, there are eight walks across the country in 2015 from April to October. Sign up for the 2015 Avon Walk today at AvonWalk.org.

"In the United States alone, one in eight women will develop breast cancer in her lifetime. This new educational campaign provides critical information to clarify the public health discussion about breast cancer worldwide," said Marc Hurlbert, executive director of the Avon Breast Cancer Crusade. "The Avon Foundation has educated more than 145 million people about breast cancer through our global network and programs. With the campaign's music video featuring Paula Abdul, and the simplification of complex breast health information, we hope to reach more people than ever before."

"Singing and dancing are my passions. I am thrilled and inspired to have had the opportunity to apply these passions to create a new music video in support of the breast cancer awareness cause, and the new global #CheckYourself for Breast Cancer campaign is very personal for me," said Paula Abdul, acclaimed singer, songwriter, choreographer, and Avon Global Ambassador. "My sister Wendy was diagnosed with breast cancer in 2000. As a breast cancer survivor and champion for the cause, she inspires me every day.  My hope is that this new video will inspire women and men to take charge of their own breast health through screening, detection, and treatment."

About the Avon Breast Cancer Crusade
The Avon Breast Cancer Crusade, which launched in 1992 and is led by the U.S.-based Avon Foundation for Women, has placed Avon and the Avon Foundation for Women at the forefront of the fight against breast cancer; today, Avon is the leading corporate supporter of the cause globally. Avon breast cancer programs in more than 50 countries have donated more than $815 million for research and advancing access to care, regardless of a person's ability to pay. Avon awards funding to beneficiaries ranging from leading cancer centers to community-based grassroots breast health programs to support breast cancer research and access to care. The Crusade has enabled more than 18 million women globally to receive free mammograms and breast cancer screenings, educated more than 145 million women about breast cancer, and funded promising research into the causes of breast cancer and ways to prevent the disease. The Avon Foundation raises funds for the Crusade through the sale of Avon "Pink Ribbon" products, and through events such as the U.S. Avon Walk for Breast Cancer series, which is the Avon Foundation's largest fund-raising event. Visit www.avonfoundation.org for more information.

About the Avon Foundation for Women
The Avon Foundation for Women, the world's largest corporate-affiliated philanthropy focused on issues that matter most to women, was founded in 1955 to improve the lives of women. Through 2013, Avon global philanthropy, led by the Avon Foundation, has donated more than $957 million in more than 50 countries for causes most important to women. Today, Avon philanthropy focuses on funding breast cancer research and access to care through the Avon Breast Cancer Crusade, and efforts to reduce domestic and gender violence through its Speak Out Against Domestic Violence program. Visit www.avonfoundation.org for more information.

KNOW YOUR RISKS. KNOW YOUR BODY. TALK TO YOUR DOCTOR.

To view the multimedia assets associated with this release, please click http://www.multivu.com/players/English/7335951-avon-foundation-for-women-check-yourself-campaign-for-breast-cancer-awareness-month/

SOURCE The Avon Foundation for Women