“Say No to Breast Cancer, Say Yes to Early Detection” – Awareness campaign with free breast examination in the Pink Cube

14.09.2023 10:00 Europe/Zurich

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Lucerne, September 14, 2023 – This year’s awareness campaign, “Say No to Breast Cancer, Say Yes to Early Detection” will take place in the Pink Cube from September 29 to October 28. In the “Pink Cube” containers in Liestal, Chur, Baden and Zurich, gynecologists will offer visitors free consultations and breast examinations, and will demonstrate to women how to examine their breasts themselves at home. The awareness campaign is an initiative of MSD and is supported by the patient organization EUROPA DONNA Schweiz and the co-organizers GILEAD and AstraZeneca.

On the occasion of the Breast Cancer month of October, the awareness campaign “Say No to Breast Cancer, Say Yes to Early Detection” will take place for the second time in a row. On two days each, the Pink Cube will be at four sites in German-speaking Switzerland. This year, they will be in Baden and Zurich once again, and in Liestal and Chur for the first time. The awareness campaign is aimed at women and men of all ages and calls on them to take personal responsibility and actively participate in breast cancer prevention. Gynecologists in local practices will offer visitors free consultations and breast examinations and show women how to examine their breasts themselves at home. The awareness campaign is supported on site by women from the breast cancer patient organization EUROPA DONNA Schweiz.

Breast cancer is the most common cancer worldwide¹

Breast cancer is the most common cancer worldwide.¹ In Switzerland, breast cancer is the second most common cancer with about 6,500 new diagnoses every year in women, and 50 in men.² The risk of becoming ill with breast cancer increases significantly starting at age 50, but a quarter of those affected are younger than 50 at the time of the diagnosis.^1,3
Around 10-15% of women affected receive the diagnosis of TNBC (Triple Negative Breast Cancer), an aggressive form of breast cancer that occurs more often in younger women.⁴

Early detection and treatment of breast cancer can save lives

Even though the treatment options have improved considerably and many patients live cancer-free today, about 1,400 women and 10 men die from breast cancer each year in Switzerland.² This makes breast cancer the third most common cause of death from cancer (after lung cancer and colon cancer) in Switzerland.² An early diagnosis and treatment of breast cancer can be crucial.

Dates and locations of the Pink Cube

Sep. 29 / Sep. 30	Liestal
Oct. 05 / Oct. 06	Chur
Oct. 20 / Oct. 21	Baden
Oct. 27 / Oct. 28	Zurich

Pink Cube in Liestal

Where:	Rathausstrasse 37, Liestal
When:	Friday, September 29 from 2 PM to 6 PM and Saturday, September 30 from 9 AM to 1 PM
On site:	Dr. med. Sonja Ebner with the team of the Breast Center Baselland and members of the breast cancer patient organization EUROPA DONNA Schweiz

Pink Cube in Chur

Where:	Alexanderplatz, Chur
When:	Thursday, October 05 from 1 PM to 7 PM and Friday, October 06 from 1 PM to 7 PM
On site:	Dr. med. Martina Maranta and Dr. med. (I) Christina Prevost with the gynecology teams of the University Hospital Zurich and Cantonal Hospital Graubünden and members of the breast cancer patient organization EUROPA DONNA Schweiz

Pink Cube in Baden

Where:	Bahnhofplatz, 5400 Baden
When:	Friday, October 20 from 1 PM to 7 PM and Saturday, October 21 from 10 AM to 4 PM
On site:	PD Dr. Nik Hauser with the team of the Aargau Gynecologist Center and members of the breast cancer patient organization EUROPA DONNA Schweiz

Pink Cube in Zurich

Where:	Train station Zurich Stadelhofen
When:	Friday, October 27 from 1 PM to 7 PM and Saturday, October 28 from 9 AM to 4 PM
On site:	Dr. med. (BG) Alina Staikov und Dr. med. (I) Alessandra Moscaroli with the gynpoint-team and members of the breast cancer patient organization EUROPA DONNA Schweiz

Invitation for members of the media

You are cordially invited to visit the Pink Cube in Liestal, Chur, Baden and Zurich.
For your reporting, we will be glad to provide you with interview texts and photographic material of women who have been diagnosed with breast cancer. Upon request, we will give you the personal contact information of Christina Christen, President of EUROPA DONNA Schweiz. If you are interested, please contact the public relations representative, Susanne Thost, Credo GmbH PR & Communications at sthost@credo-pr.ch, Tel. +41 79 356 23 84.

About EUROPA DONNA Schweiz

EUROPA DONNA Schweiz is an organization of women with breast cancer, doctors, politicians and other committed personalities. In Switzerland, one out of eight women will be diagnosed with breast cancer at some point in their life. But breast cancer is not solely a women’s problem. It affects the entire healthcare system and people’s working and private life. EUROPA DONNA Schweiz organizes and supports various activities, and by means of networking and political lobbying, stands up for all women in Switzerland to ensure that they receive optimal early detection, treatment and follow-up care for breast cancer. With visible campaigns, such as the 19,500 bras on the Bundesplatz, EUROPA DONNA Schweiz already promoted the introduction of a Swiss-wide mammography screening program in 2008. EUROPA DONNA Schweiz is part of the European Breast Cancer Coalition that 47 member states belong to. It is the only patient organization for women with breast cancer in Switzerland that also actively supports the political interests of its members.
Further information: www.europadonna.ch / www.simplythebreast.ch
www.facebook.com/europadonnaschweiz/

Further information:

• Awareness campaign in the Pink Cube www.pinkcube-testyourbreast.ch
• Breast cancer and TNBC – Facts in Switzerland www.msd-gesundheit.ch/de/krebs/brustkrebs
• EUROPA DONNA Schweiz: www.europadonna.ch / www.simplythebreast.ch
• MSD Merck Sharp & Dohme www.msd.ch/en/
• GILEAD www.gileadswitzerland.ch/en/
• AstraZeneca www.astrazeneca.ch/en/

Public relations contact “Breast cancer awareness campaign in the Pink Cube”

Susanne Thost
Credo GmbH PR & Communications
Public relations representative for “Breast cancer awareness campaign in the Pink Cube”
sthost@credo-pr.ch | Tel. +41 79 356 23 84.

References

1. https://gco.iarc.fr/today/data/factsheets/cancers/39-All-cancers-fact-sheet.pdf, viewed on Sep. 04, 2023
2. https://www.krebsliga.ch/ueber-krebs/zahlen-fakten/-dl-/fileadmin/downloads/sheets/zahlen-krebs-in-der-schweiz.pdf, viewed on Sep. 04, 2023
3. https://www.krebsliga.ch/ueber-krebs/krebsarten/brustkrebs, viewed on Sep. 04, 2023
4. https://www.cancer.org/cancer/types/breast-cancer/about/types-of-breast-cancer/triple-negative.html, viewed on Sep. 04, 2023

About MSD Merck Sharp & Dohme

At MSD Merck, Sharp & Dohme, known as Merck & Co., Inc., Rahway, NJ, USA in the United States and Canada, we are unified around our purpose: We use the power of leading-edge science to save and improve lives around the world. For more than 130 years, we have brought hope to humanity through the development of important medicines and vaccines. We aspire to be the premier research-intensive biopharmaceutical company in the world – and today, we are at the forefront of research to deliver innovative health solutions that advance the prevention and treatment of diseases in people and animals. We foster a diverse and inclusive global workforce and operate responsibly every day to enable a safe, sustainable and healthy future for all people and communities. For more information, visit www.msd.com and connect with us on Twitter, LinkedIn and YouTube.

MSD Merck Sharp & Dohme in Switzerland

In Switzerland, MSD Merck, Sharp & Dohme employs around 1,000 people at five sites in the cantons of Lucerne and Zurich. At our site in Zurich, in “The Circle”, we operate the newly opened global innovation and development hub. Our main therapeutic areas are oncology, infectious diseases, immunology, and diabetes. We also operate a broad portfolio of vaccines for the prevention of diseases in children, adolescents, and adults. Switzerland is part of MSD’s global clinical research program with more than 30 clinical trials annually. At our site in Schachen, we manufacture drugs for global clinical trials and operate a forensic laboratory. MSD also takes local responsibility for the community and has been involved in the “Trendtage Gesundheit Luzern” and the Alliance Health competence. In 2023, MSD received the “Top Employer Switzerland” award for the eleventh time in a row.

For more information, please visit msd.ch, de.msd-animal-health.ch and follow us on Twitter, LinkedIn, Facebook and YouTube.

CH-NON-02363, 09/2023

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