Susan G. Komen for the Cure® Receives Top Award Recognizing Commitment to Reduce Cancer Risks for Employees and Families

- DALLAS - Susan G. Komen for the Cure®, the world’s largest breast cancer organization, has received the CEO Cancer Gold StandardTM accreditation for its commitment to reduce cancer risks for its employees and their families by promoting healthy lifestyles, early cancer detection and access to cancer care for all.

Komen for the Cure earned Gold Standard accreditation for, among other programs, a strict tobacco-free workplace policy and commitment to smoking cessation programs; on-going, free nutrition workshops, and a variety of wellness and exercise programs, including Komen’s signature Susan G. Komen Race for the Cure® Series, Komen 3-Day for the CureTM and Marathon for the Cure®. Fewer than 60 organizations worldwide have received this cancer-fighting designation.

“As an organization dedicated to ending breast cancer forever, we realize the importance of good health and wellness practices,” said Ambassador Nancy G. Brinker, Komen founder and CEO. “If we’re going to urge people around the world to do their best to fight cancer, we at Komen have to do everything we can for our employees and their families to promote healthy lifestyles.”

The CEO Roundtable on Cancer, a nonprofit organization of CEOs committed to fighting cancer, created the CEO Cancer Gold Standard in collaboration with the National Cancer Institute, many of its designated cancer centers and other leading health nonprofit organizations and professionals. 

“I believe the commitment of Susan G. Komen for the Cure to its employees and family members in achieving Gold Standard accreditation will further inspire business leaders to recognize the valuable role they can play in the workplace to help us win the battle against cancer,” said William C. Weldon, chairman and chief executive officer of Johnson & Johnson, and chair of the CEO Roundtable on Cancer.

The CEO Cancer Gold Standard calls for companies to evaluate their health benefits and their corporate culture. To earn the organization’s accreditation, a company must offer programs and foster a culture that will lower cancer risk. Specifically, tobacco use at the workplace is strictly prohibited and support to help employees quit must be provided, along with programs that encourage physical activity and a healthy diet. Gold Standard employers also cover cancer screenings to increase the likelihood of detecting cancer at its earliest stages when outcomes are more likely to be favorable, and finally, they provide access to quality care, including participation in clinical trials.

The CEO Roundtable on Cancer estimates cancer is responsible for $128 billion in lost productivity, medical costs and disability claims, not to mention the tremendous personal toll it takes on a company’s employees and their family members.

About Susan G. Komen for the Cure®
Nancy G. Brinker promised her dying sister, Susan G. Komen, she would do everything in her power to end breast cancer forever. In 1982, that promise became Susan G. Komen for the Cure and launched the global breast cancer movement. Today, Komen for the Cure is the world’s largest grassroots network of breast cancer survivors and activists fighting to save lives, empower people, ensure quality care for all and energize science to find the cures. Thanks to events like the Komen Race for the Cure®, we have invested nearly $1.5 billion to fulfill our promise, becoming the largest source of nonprofit funds dedicated to the fight against breast cancer in the world. For more information about Susan G. Komen for the Cure, breast health or breast cancer, visit www.komen.org or call 1-877 GO KOMEN.

About The CEO Roundtable on Cancer
The CEO Roundtable on Cancer was founded in 2001, when former President George H.W. Bush challenged a group of executives to “do something bold and venturesome about cancer within your own corporate families.” The CEOs responded by creating and encouraging the widespread adoption of the CEO Cancer Gold Standard which calls for organizations to evaluate their health benefits and workplace culture and take extensive, concrete actions in five key areas of health and wellness to fight cancer in the workplace. For more information on the CEO Cancer Gold StandardTM and the web-based accreditation process and support, please visit www.CancerGoldStandard.org.