Novartis is teaming up with actress, producer, and activist Eva Longoria to launch “Kiss This 4 MBC” – a new funding and awareness-raising campaign to support the metastatic breast cancer (MBC) community.
The American Cancer Society (ACS) estimates that 155,000 people live with MBC in the U.S. “Kiss This 4 MBC” aims to help increase awareness of metastatic breast cancer, as well as the community’s unique needs and challenges, by encouraging the public to take action and post a video or a selfie on social media telling MBC to “kiss this!”
The campaign’s objective is to donate $200,000 for MBC research. To help achieve this goal, Novartis is donating $10 to Metastatic Breast Cancer Network (MBCN) and METAvivor, two patient-driven advocacy organizations, every time a social media post uses the hashtag #KissThis4MBC, which means just using the hashtag instantly triggers a $10 donation.
Everyone can also donate directly to MBCN and METAvivor through the organizations’ websites.
The campaign was launched with a live event at Washington Square Park in New York City on Sept. 15. Attendees learned more about MBC and took photos to share on their social media channels.
While at Washington Square Park, Longoria walked around “photo-bombing” some selfies and sharing stories of patients who she had met recently to spark discussion about their needs, concerns, and experiences.
Remember to always use the hashtag #KissThis4MBC for that instant $10 donation.
“I was drawn to this initiative because the message is simple and powerful, encouraging people to take action to provide meaningful support for people living with metastatic breast cancer,” Eva Longoria, whose sister had an early, treatable form of breast cancer, said in a press release.
“My sister thankfully is in remission from her breast cancer, but I know the statistics and there is a risk that it could come back and become metastatic. So this is personal to me. I want to help ignite our collective voices to drive change and raise money for this community that so urgently needs to be supported, recognized and heard,” she said.
Shirley Mertz, president of MBCN, said Kiss This 4 MBC ties directly to one of MBCN’s key tenets, “which is to advocate for focused research to find more targeted therapies to treat metastatic breast cancer. We need to lengthen and improve the quality of life for patients and make metastatic breast cancer a more manageable disease that people can live with for many years.”