If you love your breasts, raise your hand! - The Quebec Breast Cancer Foundation launches its first awareness campaign for breast health

MONTREAL, Feb. 23, 2012 /CNW Telbec/ - The Quebec Breast Cancer Foundation is proud to announce the launch of its first major public awareness campaign for breast health. Featuring the Foundation's spokesperson, Mitsou Gélinas, this campaign is aimed at encouraging Quebec women to get to know their bodies better and to be proactive by observing their breasts more often, a simple habit that should become part of their routine.

Supported by the results of an exclusive survey by Léger Marketing, which found that only 22% of women in Quebec regularly observe their breasts, the Foundation hopes to provide tools that will encourage them to take breast health to heart. The central element in this campaign is a microsite, www.breastobservation.org, which not only provides information on the right way to observe the breasts, but also gives women an opportunity to sign up for a program to receive periodic reminders. Each month, participants will receive a message via e-mail or SMS, signed by a well-known figure, to encourage them to add breast observation into their routine. There will also be frequent additions of interactive content.

"I agreed to raise my hand to join this movement, because it's crucial to make women of all ages aware of the need to be vigilant," says Mitsou Gélinas, whose signature will be on the first message sent to women who have registered for the program. "Many of the women with breast cancer we have met during activities organized by the Foundation told me that it was after discovering a breast lump or unusual redness that they consulted a specialist and received their diagnosis. I'm therefore convinced that women have everything to gain by being well informed and adopting healthy habits for breast health!"

A number of influential Quebec women, including France Beaudoin, Chantal Lamarre, Hélène Florent, Olympic medallist Caroline Ouellet, Isabelle Hudon, president of Sun Life Financial in Quebec, and Isabelle Marcoux, vice-president, business development, and vice-chair of the board at Transcontinental, have decided to get involved in helping the Foundation get its message out via their networks. The complete list of women associated with this movement is posted on the microsite. Many of the Foundation's partners have also generously made their media outlets available to provide exceptional visibility at no cost.

For the Foundation, this campaign will also make it possible to raise women's awareness and show them how easy it is to observe their breasts.

Observing the breasts involves palpating and looking at the breasts regularly. Unlike self-examination, it requires no special technique and doesn't have to be done at a specific time," says Nathalie Le Prohon, chair of the Foundation's board, who discovered her own breast cancer at age 42. "We therefore hope that this campaign will help spark discussion, since even women with no risk factors or family history of the disease may develop breast cancer at some point in their life. Early diagnosis may mean a better chance of survival and less toxic treatments."

Obviously, observation of the breasts does not take the place of clinical examination or mammography. Instead, it is a complement to these practices and the first step in taking charge of your health. With one in nine women at risk of receiving a breast cancer diagnosis at some point in their life and 6,200 new cases this year alone in Quebec, the Foundation firmly believes in the importance of this awareness initiative.

About the Quebec Breast Cancer Foundation
The Quebec Breast Cancer Foundation is a non-profit organization with a mission to fund breast cancer research, promote breast health through education and awareness activities, and provide support for those affected by the disease. For additional information, please visit www.rubanrose.org.

Source:
Quebec Breast Cancer Foundation

Information:
Jade St-Jean 
Morin Relations Publiques
514-289-8688, ext. 235
Cell: 514-716-7530
[email protected]