How a pink ribbon has helped the fight against breast cancer

Record ID: 1692906

  • Title: How a pink ribbon has helped the fight against breast cancer
  • Date: 12th October 2022
  • Summary: ZURICH, SWITZERLAND (FILE-MAY 27, 2019) (REUTERS) VARIOUS OF TUMOUR CELL SAMPLE
  • Embargoed: 26th October 2022 15:11
  • Keywords: american cancer society anniversary breast cancer elizabeth hurley pink ribbon
  • Location: VARIOUS
  • City: VARIOUS
  • Country: US
  • Topics: Celebrities,Arts/Culture/Entertainment,United States
  • Reuters ID: LVA00B149511102022RP1
  • Aspect Ratio: 16:9
  • Story Text: The Estée Lauder Companies’ Breast Cancer Campaign and its pink ribbon is celebrating its 30th anniversary.
    “It's hard to believe it's been 30 years since the breast cancer campaign started,” said Executive Chairman of Estée Lauder William P. Lauder and the son of the co-creator of the campaign, Evelyn Lauder.
    “We've accomplished so much, and it's amazing that in 30 years, the scientists who've been funded by all the amazing efforts for the breast cancer campaign, the Breast Cancer Research Foundation… there's so much more for them to accomplish still,” he added.
    Evelyn, who died in 2011, was the daughter-in-law to American cosmetic company founder Estee Lauder, and founded The Breast Cancer Research Foundation in 1993. She also co-created the pink ribbon symbol that has become the iconic symbol of breast cancer awareness.
    “If you remember back then, there was a great deal of attention to AIDS and people were wearing a red ribbon to call attention and awareness to AIDS. And my mother said that there are more women diagnosed with breast cancer every day than there are people who are diagnosed with AIDS, and it infects one in eight women….And we know October now, pink is Breast Cancer Awareness Month,” said William.
    The company claims its foundations have funded more than $108 million (USD) for lifesaving global research, education and medical services. In addition to making significant breakthroughs in prevention, diagnosis, treatment and survivorship. The foundation currently works with more than 60 global organizations that help provide services to local communities.
    Actress and model Elizabeth Hurley has been working with the campaign for 27 years and said raising awareness is still just as important.
    “I've met so many more women who's been diagnosed with breast cancer or men who had mothers, sisters, whatever. But I realized it was still such a relevant topic every time we came back to it. There was so much more information to add to that,” said Hurley who is also the campaign’s global ambassador.
    Dr. Larry Norton, the Senior Vice President of the Office of the President and the Medical Director of the Evelyn H. Lauder Breast Center at Memorial Sloan-Kettering Cancer Center in New York said positive advancements make it hard to remember what breast cancer was like 30 years ago. He noted that larger tumors were found with worse prognosis and therapies were much tougher for people to take. In addition to metastatic disease being something that medicine couldn't handle.
    Because of increased screenings and population more people are being diagnosed, however, the death rate has dropped to more than 40 percent.
    “That 40% represents the people who are taking advantage of the advances that have been made. Not everybody has the opportunity to take advantage of those advances. So, it would be even greater if we could actually take the advance that we've made in diagnosis and therapy and apply it to a larger segment, hopefully all the American population,” said Dr. Norton.
    Dr. Karen Knudsen, the CEO of the American Cancer Society applauds the strides the campaign has made.
    “I really appreciate the power of the pink ribbon and the power of women in that story. So, I'm also old enough to remember when women galvanized behind the concept that there was not enough funding for breast cancer research. They got together, they told stories, they advocated, they raised awareness. And they called upon the U.S. government to invest in breast cancer research. And they did.”
    In addition, celebrities including Julia Louis Dreyfus, Christina Applegate and Shannen Doherty sharing their breast cancer diagnosis have helped raised awareness.
    Researchers say the question now is how do we improve upon what we already know to create a world were breast cancer is easily treatable.
    However, until then Dr. Norton said breast cancer is not something to be afraid of, it’s something to tackle.
    “It's a real problem. And it's something that, that people should be aware of as a problem. But on the other hand, it's something that we can really address with, with available tools and with the tools of the future.”
    (Production: Hussein Al Waaile, Alicia Powell)
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