Don’t Fail the Girls™,” the platform’s initial campaign, focuses on the next generation and addresses hard truths — rising breast cancer rates among younger women and persistent mortality disparities for Black women

Susan G. Komen^®, the world’s leading nonprofit breast cancer organization, today launched “Don’t Fail the Girls,” a new national campaign calling on the public to make ending deaths from breast cancer urgent for a new generation. The campaign is built on Komen’s Breast Honesty™ platform, which empowers people to have open, honest conversations about breast health, understand their personal risk and push for timely, high-quality care for everyone.

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“Breast cancer is not over. It is pervasive and this year will be responsible for nearly 43,000 deaths in the U.S. We’re losing someone’s mother, daughter, sister, father, friend or colleague — someone you know and love,” said Amber Guild, CEO of Susan G. Komen. “That is the urgency of this moment — and it underscores the importance of the work that remains to be done. We still see people diagnosed too young, too late or without access to the high-quality care they need and deserve. And we still have unacceptable disparities in who survives. ‘Don’t Fail the Girls’ is our call to make these truths impossible to ignore, and to bring new urgency to the fight to create a future where no one dies from breast cancer.”

Despite decades of progress, breast cancer remains one of the nation's most urgent health challenges and shows no signs of stopping. Nearly 325,000 women and men in the U.S. are expected to be diagnosed with breast cancer this year, and about every 12 minutes, someone will die from breast cancer.

The disease knows no bounds, whether it be age, gender, race or geography. It is rising faster among women under 50 than over 50 in the U.S., including many who believe they are too young to be at risk. Black women in the U.S. continue to face delays in diagnosis, inequitable access to care and differences in treatment, and higher incidence of aggressive types of breast cancer, among other factors, making them on average about 40% more likely to die from breast cancer than white women. This means that in some communities the mortality rate is even higher. Metastatic breast cancer (MBC), also known as stage 4 breast cancer, is the most advanced stage of the disease and is responsible for nearly all breast cancer deaths. An estimated 170,000 people in the U.S. are living with metastatic breast cancer.

The “Don’t Fail the Girls” campaign, a charge to all to stand with those facing breast cancer now, and do better for everyone who may face it next, comes to life through three key campaign elements:

• “Don’t Fail the Girls” PSA and Creative — A film built on the real voices of women touched by breast cancer — newly diagnosed, in treatment, those living with MBC, survivors, those at high risk and the families who stand beside them — each naming the age at which they were diagnosed, underscoring that breast cancer affects people at every age.
• The Komen Giving Tee^TM — Created with Harlem’s Fashion Row and designer Stella Jean, the first T-shirt embedded with NFC technology to fund women’s health. A tap of the sleeve lets anyone donate directly to Susan G. Komen, on the street, at work or wherever they are. The limited-edition shirt debuted during New York Fashion Week and is now available here.
• The Breast Bank^TM — Starting today, anyone can make a deposit in the Breast Bank to support the Komen Patient Care Center. The Breast Bank™ makes it easy to help someone else access and afford whatever comes next — a ride to treatment, a week of groceries, the follow-up tests and care they need — because no one should have to choose between paying their bills and protecting their health.

Since its founding in 1982, Komen has invested more than $1.1 billion in breast cancer research and is the largest nonprofit funder of breast cancer research after the U.S. government and has contributed to nearly 4,300 scientific discoveries and played a role in 31 of the 32 FDA-approved breast cancer drugs developed over the past three decades. These breakthroughs are giving people with early stage and metastatic breast cancers more time, more options and more hope. Komen has also invested approximately $2.7 billion in patient support and advocacy programs worldwide, helping millions of people access high-quality care. But despite this progress, breast cancer remains one of the nation’s most urgent health challenges. Progress alone isn’t enough when families continue to lose loved ones every day — we have to move faster and turn what we’ve learned into more lives saved.

Every person who donates, volunteers, registers for an event or joins the conversation helps fund groundbreaking research, supports people impacted by breast cancer today and fuels advocacy that improves access to high-quality care. To join the movement, donate or connect with a patient navigator through Komen’s Patient Care Center, visit Komen.org or call 1-877 GO KOMEN (1-877-465-6636).

About Susan G. Komen^®

Susan G. Komen® is the world’s leading nonprofit breast cancer organization, working toward a future where no one dies from breast cancer. Komen has an unmatched, comprehensive 360-degree approach to fighting this disease across all fronts and supporting millions of people in the U.S. and in countries worldwide. We advocate for patients, drive research breakthroughs, improve access to high-quality care, offer direct patient support and empower people with trustworthy information. Founded by Nancy G. Brinker, who promised her sister, Susan G. Komen, that she would end the disease that claimed Suzy’s life, Komen remains committed to supporting those affected by breast cancer today, while tirelessly searching for tomorrow’s cures. Visit komen.org or call 1-877 GO KOMEN. Connect with us on social at www.komen.org/contact-us/follow-us/.

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