Comcast
Launches Breast Cancer Hope, a Video-On-Demand and Online Initiative
Providing Convenient Access to Breast Cancer Information and
Resources
Lifetime
Sponsors Programming Initiative Airing Throughout October; Additional
Programming Providers Include Discovery Health, HBO, The Style
Network and Exercise TV; Breastcancer.org Provides Medical Information
PHILADELPHIA,
Sept. 24 /PRNewswire/ -- To help raise awareness and provide
important information about
breast cancer, a disease that about one in eight women will
develop during their lives, Comcast is launching Breast Cancer Hope, a first-of-its-kind video-on-demand and
online initiative bringing together educational and inspirational content for all women and their loved ones.
Comcast is working with Lifetime, which is serving as the sponsor
of Breast Cancer Hope, as well as The
Style Network, HBO, Discovery Health, Exercise TV and breastcancer.org,
the leading online site for medically reviewed and up-to-date information about breast cancer,
to present dozens of programs about
detecting and living with breast cancer, as well as discussion
forums, health and fitness advice and relevant news clips.
Beginning this week and continuing throughout October, Comcast
customers with ON DEMAND service will have access to more than 40 programs in five topical areas:
--
Inspiration: six episodes of HBO's Sex and the
City featuring Samantha's (Kim Cattrall) battle with breast
cancer; segments from the Lifetime series Intimate Portraits
featuring profiles of Ann Curry, Betsey Johnson and Rosanna
Arquette, as well as the Emmy(R)-nominated Lifetime original
movie, Why I Wore Lipstick to My Mastectomy, starring
Sarah Chalke (Scrubs); the documentary Dear Talula, about
a young mother who discovers she has breast cancer; and
from Discovery Health, personal and motivational stories
from cancer survivors such as I Have Breast Cancer: Janice's
Journey.
-- Fact or Fiction: exclusive content created by
Lifetime and breastcancer.org featuring interviews with
doctors and other health professionals that offer a patient's
perspective about what to expect from visits to specialists
like radiologists, breast surgeons, oncologists, plastic
surgeons and genetics counselors.
-- What's My Risk: from Discovery Health's series
Breast Health: New Hope, programming on breast cancer
causes, prevention and treatment are featured along with
the experiences of families affected by the disease; healthy-cooking
recipes from Comcast's Digital Cookbook series; mini workouts
from Exercise TV; and breast-cancer-related episodes from
Comcast's Seeking Solutions with Suzanne and It's Your
Call with Lynn Doyle.
--
Breast Cancer Info.: programs following women from
the diagnosis stage through treatment and exploring plastic
surgery and reconstruction options.
--
Fashion Tips: advice for patients and survivors, from
demonstrations of how to wear a scarf to makeover shows,
including special segments from The Style Network's popular
series, How Do I Look? and Whose Wedding is it Anyway?
Comcast also is making a wide range of breast cancer information
available online at
www.comcast.net/breastcancer. At that site, visitors can view
video news reports, read and post to message
boards about breast cancer, and send their questions to Dr.
Marisa Weiss, the founder of breastcancer.org. "Through Breast Cancer Hope, we are providing a resource
that can make a meaningful, lasting impact on
people's lives by raising awareness and providing information
about the disease," said Matt Strauss, Senior
Vice President, New Media for Comcast. "Our goal is to
make it easy for women to explore this important topic
from the privacy and convenience of their own homes."
Added Dr. Weiss, "VOD is a powerful tool to advance the
conversation about women and breast cancer. We
are pleased to partner with Comcast and leading cable networks
to present this comprehensive offering to
millions of customers."
Lifetime has championed the fight against breast cancer and
is dedicated to offering women up-to-date,
comprehensive information about breast cancer. Part of Lifetime's
Emmy(R)-winning My Lifetime Commitment
public awareness campaigns, the Stop Breast Cancer for Life
initiative reaches women and families in more
than 96 million homes across the country and in partnership
with the Network's cable affiliates, advertising
sponsors and 10 leading nonprofit organizations. The network
also has collected more than 20 million signatures on LifetimeTV.com
to urge Congress to pass the bipartisan Breast Cancer Patient
Protection Act of
2005 (S.910/H.R.1849). The bill would end the practice of "drive-through"
mastectomies, where women are
sometimes forced to leave the hospital sometimes hours following
their surgeries even if they and their
doctors feel they are not ready to go home.
"After 13 successful years working with our affiliates
on our award-winning "Stop Breast Cancer for Life"
campaign, we are happy to expand our efforts through this new
partnership with Comcast and
breastcancer.org," said Louise Henry Bryson, President,
Distribution & Affiliate Business Development for
Lifetime. "By providing educational, entertaining and inspirational
video on demand content to Comcast
customers, we will give more women greater access to critical
life-saving information."
Comcast
customers are currently using the ON DEMAND service more than
250 million times per month, and
Comcast.net reaches more than 15 million unique visitors per
month. Both platforms will highlight the Breast Cancer Hope initiative to help make consumers aware of the resources
available to them. For more
information about Comcast's services, customers can visit www.comcast.com.
About Comcast
Comcast Corporation (http://www.comcast.com) is the nation's
leading provider of cable, entertainment and
communications products and services. With 24.1 million cable
customers, 12.4 million high-speed Internet
customers, and 3.5 million voice customers, Comcast is principally
involved in the development,
management and operation of broadband cable systems and in the
delivery of programming content.
Comcast's content networks and investments include E! Entertainment
Television, Style Network, The Golf
Channel, VERSUS, G4, AZN Television, PBS KIDS Sprout, TV One,
Comcast SportsNet and Comcast
Interactive Media, which develops and operates Comcast's Internet
business. Comcast also has a majority
ownership in Comcast-Spectacor, whose major holdings include
the Philadelphia Flyers NHL hockey team,
the Philadelphia 76ers NBA basketball team and two large multipurpose
arenas in Philadelphia.