Happy 20th Anniversary to the Avon Breast Cancer Crusade!

The year 2012 brings much to celebrate at the Avon Foundation for Women. Not only does this year mark the 10th Birthday season of the Avon Walk for Breast Cancer, but it's also a milestone year for the enormously successful global Avon Breast Cancer Crusade?its 20th Anniversary!

The Avon Breast Cancer Crusade's life-saving work over the past two decades has placed Avon at the forefront of the fight against breast cancer. Today, Avon is the leading corporate supporter of the breast cancer cause globally. Much of this progress is a direct result of Representative support?in the form of selling Pink Ribbon merchandise; supporting the cause by walking in and supporting the Avon Walks; and by spreading the message of early detection to your friends and family. We couldn't have gotten this far without you, so THANK YOU!

Let's take a look at some of the Avon Breast Cancer Crusade's incredible accomplishments over the past 20 years:

• Since the Avon Breast Cancer Crusade launched in 1992, Avon breast cancer programs in 58 countries have donated more than $740 million for research and advancing access to care, regardless of a person's ability to pay.
  
• Since the sale of its first Pink Ribbon product in the United Kingdom in 1992, Avon has raised more than $283 million through the sale of a wide variety of Pink Ribbon products.
  
• The Crusade has enabled more than 17 million women globally to receive FREE mammograms and breast cancer screenings; educated more than 100 million women about breast cancer; and funded promising research into the causes of breast cancer and ways to prevent the disease.
  

The field of breast cancer research and treatment has also improved dramatically over the past 20 years. Here are just a few examples:

• Twenty years after Avon began its efforts to fight breast cancer, five-year survival rates after a breast cancer diagnosis have improved from an average of 70% in 1992 to greater than 85% today for those with access to care. For breast cancers caught early, five-year survival odds can be greater than 95%.
  
• Advances in breast imaging?digital mammography, ultrasound and MRI?enable doctors to find tumors before a palpable lump can be felt.
  
• Surgical procedures have become less invasive and mastectomy is not always needed; rather, lumpectomy plus radiation has become the standard of care in most cases.
  
• Research conducted over the past 20 years has enabled scientists to better understand that there are different types of breast cancer, and develop new diagnostic tests to enable more targeted and individualized breast cancer therapies.
  

Although much progress to end breast cancer has been made, the battle has not yet been won. Therefore, the Avon Breast Cancer Crusade will persevere in its mission until breast cancer is eradicated. You can help the cause by continuing to sell Pink Ribbon fund-raising products; walking in the Avon Walk for Breast Cancer (or supporting friends who are walking); and talking to your doctor about breast health and your breast cancer risk. Thank you for being In It to End It with us as we continue our commitment to ensure that all women have access to high-quality care.