October is Breast Cancer Awareness Month and we just launched our fifth annual Pink Ribbon Campaign with a collection of educational programming on Xfinity On Demand and XfinityTV.com and beginning October 10 through the Xfinity TV App. This valuable resource is possible through our partnership with Breastcancer.org, and I recently got a chance to chat with the founder, president and guiding force behind that site, Dr. Marisa Weiss. A true visionary in educating women about breast cancer, I asked Dr. Weiss about the challenges of promoting breast cancer awareness and about the partnership with Comcast.
What are the greatest challenges you face promoting breast cancer awareness?
Every woman is overextended with commitments at home, work and in the community. There's hardly any extra time and energy to address something that doesn't seem urgent. Plus, common misconceptions make many women believe they are not at risk for breast cancer. But, the fact is, most women who get breast cancer have no significant family history or any known gene abnormality. Every woman is at risk, including the thin, vegetarian, yoga instructor with no family history.
The good news is that changing your life today can help lower your risk tomorrow. By changing what you eat, drink, breathe, take and use, you can make your cells healthier and potentially reduce your risk of ever getting breast cancer.
What has it meant for Breastcancer.org to partner with Comcast for the last five years?
We are very proud of the collaboration between Breastcancer.org and Comcast because it has provided life-saving expertise and support to millions of families seeking medical information about breast health and breast cancer. The combination of Breastcancer.org's medical expertise with Comcast's major distribution channels of Xfinity On Demand, XfinityTV.com and this year, the Xfinity TV app, has had such a synergistic and profound therapeutic impact. The engaging and innovative programs encourage participation, dispel myths and build knowledge and confidence. Plus, many viewers extend the value of the programs by sharing the lessons learned with loved ones.
Please discuss the Think Pink, Live Green guide. Why should every woman read it?
Every woman is at risk for breast cancer and the risk starts at birth. Most breast cancers do NOT run in families and are NOT caused by an inherited abnormal gene. In fact, most breast cancers are due to the interaction between the outside environment and your body's inside environment. Think Pink, Live Green helps you make the best choices about what you eat and drink, the medicines and supplements you take, and the personal and household products you use. These materials build and run your breast cells. So changing your life today can help lower your breast cancer risk tomorrow. While it's best to be breast healthy during pregnancy and childhood when breast development is underway, it's never too late to start. So much is at stake: there are there are more than three billion women in the world and breast cancer is the most common cancer to affect women.