GE HealthCare Launches 2023 'JoinPink Campaign' Harnessing Art to Inspire Boundless Care
GE Healthcare
Digital Solution Provider
Shanghai, October 12, 2023 — Today, GE Healthcare unveiled the "Feel the Majority" Breast Cancer Prevention Public Art Exhibition in Shanghai, marking the official launch of GE Healthcare China's 2023 "JoinPink Pink Ribbon Campaign." This is the first time GE Healthcare has launched the "Pink Ribbon Campaign" as an independent brand, based on its new corporate mission of "Creating Unbounded Healthcare Compassion." Collaborating with 11 Chinese and international artists, the campaign highlights attention to breast health and collective interpretation, aiming to transcend boundaries of gender, age, identity, and language, fostering emotional understanding and resonance among the public. The goal is to inspire more people to transform awareness into voluntary action, taking the first step toward early screening and diagnosis of breast diseases.
According to data released by the International Agency for Research on Cancer (IARC) of the World Health Organization, the number of new breast cancer cases reached 2.26 million in 2020, surpassing lung cancer for the first time to become the "world's number one cancer." In China, the incidence rate of breast cancer ranks first among female malignant tumors and is showing a trend of becoming younger. In fact, as a preventable and treatable tumor, the five-year survival rate for early-stage breast cancer can reach 90%.1, which is 4.5 times that of advanced breast cancer. It can be seen that,High-quality early screening for breast cancer is crucial to improving the level of breast cancer prevention and treatment.. Unfortunately, the current early detection rate of breast cancer in China is less than 20%, with only 5% of cases discovered through screening.2What is missing here is the public's scientific understanding of breast health screening and the control of diagnostic quality in the screening process.
To enhance women's understanding and awareness of breast health, and change the "fear of illness and avoidance of medical treatment" that hinders women from taking early screening and early diagnosis actions, GE Healthcare has invited 11 pioneering artists to collaborate on a joint creation,In hopes of using the key of art to interpret the indescribable feelings and emotions that breast cancer brings to the body and life., making breast cancer not just a distant and cold medical concept, but allowing the audience to confront those significant moments of life, creating an urgent emotional impetus for the right actions.
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Among the creators of this exhibition, there are mothers who have experienced childbirth, couples with cultural differences, and men who contemplate deeply through understanding. Based on their comprehension of breast health and female vitality, as well as their listening to and empathy with the real experiences of patients, they have created a series of diverse and vibrant artworks using forms such as paper art, painting, digital art, and installation art. These works are presented in three chapters: "Seeing Emotions," "Facing the Dialogue of Pain," and "Feeling and Gazing." Relevant health education materials are also available at the exhibition site to help the audience better understand methods for the prevention and treatment of breast cancer.
Mo Zhi's work "Origin" uses acrylic to paint a series of variant images. The form of concentric circles echoes the image of the female body. The work seeks to remind people to reflect on the long-standing gaze upon the female body in the tradition of art history, aiming to eliminate cultural bias, release viewing perception from inherent inertia, return to its authentic existence, and focus on physical and mental health with a positive perspective.
Guo Shilong and Zhang Shu encapsulate different colors within each unit through their unique glass weaving technique. A woman's breasts are like these variably shaped fruits, and the fine, intricate lines resemble the paths they have traversed. This showcases a fragile yet resilient beauty.
Liu Wenqi, an artist currently residing in Paris, France, uses ceramics for micro-scale creations, revealing tiny and often unnoticed worlds as well as the beauty of imperfection — the experience of illness and treatment may leave wounds and flaws, yet it also contains a unique kind of beauty and vitality.
"Empathy for All" Public Welfare Art Exhibition - Partial Exhibits
Women's health is an important cornerstone of public health and also a significant part of the "Healthy China" initiative. As a "long-term advocate" for women's health, GE Healthcare has been conducting the breast cancer prevention public welfare campaign "Pink Ribbon" annually since 2006, through...High-quality product technology and digital innovation, collaborative exploration of screening, diagnosis, and treatment pathways suitable for China, and raising public awareness of early health and free clinicsThree aspects to help improve the precision prevention and treatment level of breast cancer in China, and spread the pink care to more people.
In terms of product technology innovationGE Healthcare has more than ten screening and diagnostic product technologies and digital innovations for the full imaging pathway of breast cancer screening and diagnosis. Guided by the strategy of "comprehensive localization, boundaryless innovation, and win-win cooperation," GE Healthcare continues to research and launch new products that are more suitable for the characteristics of Chinese women. This year, the ultra-high-end research digital mammography system Pristina Hygeia and the ABUS 2.0 fully automated breast ultrasound AI comprehensive solution were launched in China, helping to improve the quality and efficiency of breast cancer screening and diagnosis.
In collaborating to explore screening, diagnosis, and treatment pathways suitable for ChinaGE Healthcare collaborates with national authoritative institutions to develop screening standards tailored to the breast characteristics of Chinese women and to conduct relevant academic research. Working closely with industry partners, GE Healthcare breaks down barriers in screening, diagnosis, and treatment, exploring integrated solutions for breast cancer. For example, in 2022, GE Healthcare partnered with Elekta to provide more integrated and precise radiation therapy solutions.
In Health Education and Public Welfare Free ClinicsTo date, GE Healthcare has provided breast cancer screening training to more than 10,000 grassroots physicians and collaborated with over 50 medical institutions to offer free breast cancer screenings, benefiting nearly 60,000 women across more than 20 provinces/municipalities in China. Online and offline educational outreach has reached nearly 100 million people. Only in the first half of 2023, 25 stations of public welfare screening activities have been carried out, covering a cumulative total of more than 5,000 women. The activities in the second half of the year are proceeding vigorously. During this "Pink October" World Breast Cancer Awareness Month, GE Healthcare will also organize "Pink Runs" in multiple locations such as Beijing, Shanghai, Guangzhou, Wuxi, Hong Kong, and Taiwan, and provide free, high-quality breast screenings for female employees and their families.
About GE Healthcare
GE Healthcare is committed to becoming a global leader in innovative medical technology, diagnostic pharmaceuticals, and digital solutions. By providing integrated solutions, services, and data analytics, it enables hospitals to operate more efficiently, clinical diagnoses to be more effective, treatment methods to be more precise, and patients to be healthier and happier. Over its more than 100 years of serving patients and healthcare institutions, GE Healthcare has continuously advanced personalized, interconnected, and more empathetic healthcare while streamlining the patient care process. GE Healthcare's businesses in medical imaging, ultrasound, life care, and diagnostic pharmaceuticals cover every aspect of healthcare from diagnosis, treatment, to monitoring. GE Healthcare was listed on the NASDAQ stock exchange in January 2023. The company operates in more than 160 countries and regions, with annual revenue exceeding $18.3 billion and over 50,000 employees worldwide working together to create seamless healthcare.
1Data released by the National Cancer Center's Office of Cancer Prevention and Control Research in China
2"China Breast Cancer Screening and Early Diagnosis and Treatment Guidelines (2018 Edition)"
