The View And The American Cancer Society Join Forces In October To Support The Fight Against Breast Cancer

American Cancer Society
Sunday, 23 September 2001

ABC Daytime's popular morning talk and entertainment program "The View" and the American Cancer Society, the nation's leading health voluntary organization, join forces in October to support the fight against breast cancer. Together, during Breast Cancer Awareness Month, they will help raise money and more importantly, encourage women to inform others about breast cancer through the American Cancer Society's Tell A Friend® program.

Tell A Friend is a peer-counseling program conducted by trained women volunteers. These women contact five friends or other women they know to encourage them to get mammography screening.

Barbara Walters, Meredith Vieira, Star Jones, Joy Behar and Lisa Ling are the dynamic team of women who share their daily, no-holds-barred opinions and colorful conversations. The unmatched chemistry of the five co-hosts is the original forum where real women discuss relevant, everyday issues.

Polling shows that breast cancer is the number one health concern of US women. The co-hosts will spend the month of October around their signature table drinking from limited edition pink View mugs to remind the audience of the importance of getting reliable information about breast cancer.

Viewers will be encouraged to send their friends and loved ones lifesaving information about breast cancer enclosed with a limited edition pink View mug. Viewers interested in obtaining the mug will be instructed to log onto abc.com (keyword: theview), or to call 1-800-ACS-2345. The donations, a portion of which will be tax deductible, will support the breast cancer programs of the American Cancer Society.

Sharing engaging, entertaining and compelling stories and dedicated show segments, "The View" hopes to encourage, inspire and educate viewers during the month to join the fight against this deadly disease, a cause supported by the show's co-hosts.

The reality of breast cancer shows that 192,200 new diagnoses are expected in the United States by year's end, with 40,600 expected deaths. Breast cancer is the second leading cause of cancer deaths among women 40 years of age and older, with mortality rates considerably higher among African American women.

The goal of this venture is to explore the many ways for women to defend themselves against the disease, showcase new, groundbreaking research discoveries on the horizon and outline the many programs offered by the American Cancer Society to inform and support patients and their families.

"Our collaboration with 'The View' is an extraordinary opportunity to reach a broad spectrum of women with information that we know they both want and need," said Carolyn Runowicz, MD, member of the American Cancer Society's Breast Cancer Council. "And through the mug promotion, the women in 'The View's' audience can provide an important influence on the health and knowledge of their friends,"she added.

"The View" has earned numerous Daytime Emmy Award nominations since its launch in 1997, including four consecutive nominations for Outstanding Daytime Talk Show and Outstanding Talk Show Host, and has received 11 Daytime Emmy Awards. Now in its fifth season, "The View" is seen live, MONDAY-FRIDAY (11:00 a.m.-12:00 noon, ET; CLOSED-CAPTIONED; broadcast in stereo where available), on the ABC Television Network. The show airs in 99.67% of the country and will celebrate its 1000th Show on November 28.

"The View" is produced by ABC Daytime and Ms. Walters' Barwall Productions, with Ms. Walters serving as executive producer along with Bill Geddie, who also serves as executive producer for The Barbara Walters Specials.

The American Cancer Society is a nationwide community-based voluntary health organization that is dedicated to eliminating cancer as a major health problem through research, education, advocacy and service. For information about cancer, call toll-free anytime 1-800-ACS-2345, or visit the American Cancer Society website.

For more information, or to contact American Cancer Society, see their website at: www.cancer.org