Contact:
Katy Roy, Fleishman-Hillard, 212-265-9150 [email protected]
Susan Carter, Komen Foundation, 214-526-3690 [email protected]
SUSAN G. KOMEN BREAST CANCER FOUNDATION LAUNCHES WEBSITE IN TIME FOR NATIONAL BREAST CANCER AWARENESS MONTH
Founders of Race for the Cure Offer WorldÃs Largest Information Exchange on Breast Cancer
September 29, 1997 (Dallas, TX) The Susan G. Komen Breast Cancer Foundation today unveiled a comprehensive online source of breast health and breast cancer information. The Komen Foundation, known for raising awareness and community support for breast cancer research and programs through its nationally acclaimed Race for the Cure, will now extend its reach by offering a website that provides general breast cancer information, with specific areas that address the needs of special audiences, including breast cancer survivors and their friends and families, the media, and the medical and scientific communities.
"WeÃve developed a sound source of trusted information that can be tapped into anytime day or night," stated Nancy Brinker, founding chairman of the Komen Foundation. "And weÃve gone a step further by providing people the ability to share their personal experiences on our websites, creating a sense of empowerment and community spirit online."
Internet users can access the website by using one of three Internet addresses: 1) www.breastcancerinfo.com, 2) www.raceforthecure.com, and 3) www.komen.org. In addition to an extensive area of more than 100 pages of breast health information, the site features areas specifically designed for breast cancer survivors and their families. Members from the scientific and medical community can access information about and applications for the Komen FoundationÃs research and grant opportunities, while breast health supporters can receive up-to-the minute information on the Race for the Cure series and a comprehensive calendar of breast cancer-related events and programs.
The site features a series of "Talk Back" sections, which encourage visitor participation and involvement by allowing users to share their first-hand experience with breast cancer. Users can give their reasons for participating in the Race for the Cure, for example, on Why I am Running, or views about conquering the disease on What Survivorship Means to Me. Inspiring stories can be posted in an area specifically designed for those who have fought the disease head-on and their families. As one Komen website user writes, "Thank you for making me believe that there will be a next year, and IÃll be an active part of it."
"These are people with real issues and concerns," notes Brinker. "We elicit dialog from the users, which in turn offers people support and inspiration unique among websites that primarily focus on research and clinical information. The level of honesty and emotion is tremendous."
The Lee Company was instrumental in the development of the Komen FoundationÃs website. A portion of the funds raised by employees nationwide who took part in the first-ever Lee National Denim Day in 1996 helped underwrite the educational website. The Lee Company invited corporations to participate by allowing their employees to wear denim to work on Lee National Denim Day in exchange for a $5 contribution to the Komen Foundation. More than $1.4 million was raised on that single day. October 10 is the date for this yearÃs Lee National Denim Day, and more than 9,000 companies have signed up to participate.
The Komen Foundation website was designed over a ten-month period by WaveBase9 (www.wavebase9.com), a digital design agency based in Dallas, TX which specializes in sites that are content-rich for industry-leading clients who are clearinghouses of news, information and perspectives within their field. The developers believe the sites will be a huge success because they are easy to navigate, despite the massive scope of information. Although there are already 400 pages posted on the Komen website, there is one toolbar on all of the web pages throughout. Users are never more than three mouse clicks away from virtually all of the sitesà content.
The Susan G. Komen Breast Cancer Foundation was established in 1982 by Nancy Brinker to honor the memory of her sister, Susan G. Komen, who died from breast cancer at the age of 36. The Komen FoundationÃs mission is to eradicate breast cancer as a life-threatening disease. Volunteers work through local chapters and Race for the Cure events in over 80 communities across the country. In addition to being the nationÃs largest private funder of research dedicated solely to breast cancer, the Komen Foundation delivers the life-saving message of early detection to hundreds of thousands of women and men, and funds education, screening and treatment projects for the medically underserved in communities from coast to coast.
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