Speaking of breast cancer

Posted October 1st, 2008 at 10:41 am by Marta Nichols, Investor Relations

Number of Comments No Comments / Filed in: Yahoo! For Good

Livestrong girl When my friend Jill completed breast cancer treatment in the early 90’s, “cancer” was still whispered cautiously, as if you could somehow catch it by uttering the word. Even saying “breast” was a little avant-garde at the time, unless you were buying poultry.

Thankfully, things have changed. Cancer has hit close to home for me many times in the last ten years — my dad, my mom, extended family, friends. But when I was diagnosed with early stage breast cancer in 2005 shortly after starting at Yahoo!, I didn’t have to whisper about it. Not only was it okay to talk about cancer, there was an international movement to cure it. The pink ribbon had even given the disease its own trademark color.

I stood on the shoulders of those who went before me – the nearly $1 billion in research funding raised by Susan G. Komen for the Cure, Lance Armstrong and the Global Cancer Initiative of his growing Livestrong Army, and the grassroots efforts of my friend Jill and others like her. I learned from their courage, strength and willingness to ask tough questions, demand more research, and take pride in being a survivor.

It may sound trite, but I owe my own life (and my daughter’s –- born less than two years after I completed treatment) to these organizations. Each of them made it possible for me to face cancer head on, ask tough questions, learn quickly, and make well-informed decisions about myriad treatment and care options. They gave me my voice.

During breast cancer awareness month, Yahoo!’s going pink in the name of helping our users find their own voice. You’ll see special features in October on the Yahoo! logo on our homepage; Yahoo! Telemundo, Yahoo! Shine, and Yahoo! Health are featuring breast cancer resources; and searches for breast cancer terms will turn the search results page pink (starting tonight) and link to content on Yahoo! Health.

Pink ribbon Also, Yahoo! for Good and Yahoo! Search have teamed up to launch “Search for a Cause,” a new SearchMonkey enhancement displayed under search results for nearly 60 (and growing) popular shopping sites like Amazon, REI and Expedia. If users click “Shop Now” and complete a purchase, a commission will benefit Susan G. Komen for the Cure – 7.5% of your purchase price, on average. Need more encouragement? Yahoo! will donate a dollar for every user who adds the application in the month of October, up to $25,000. More here.