GE Healthcare initiates global public awareness campaign on cancer prevention

GE Healthcare has today launched its third annual #GetFit (www.ge-getfit.com) global public awareness campaign on cancer prevention. This year's campaign leverages social media channels including Instagram, Sina Weibo in China, and Twitter to enable participation, interaction and engagement. #GetFit will run until the end of June 2013 and will highlight recent research and new survey findings, collaborate with the American Cancer Society, and engage a global audience to promote healthy habits that can help reduce the likelihood of developing cancer.

“Raising awareness of early cancer detection, encouraging individuals to adopt personal monitoring routines and building a greater understanding of inherent cancer risk is why we run #GetFit”

In many countries across the globe, one in three people will be diagnosed with cancer during their lifetime. However, more than half of all cancer deaths can be prevented by making healthy choices, such as: not smoking, maintaining a healthy weight, eating properly, being physically active and getting recommended screening tests.

"Raising awareness of early cancer detection, encouraging individuals to adopt personal monitoring routines and building a greater understanding of inherent cancer risk is why we run #GetFit," said John Dineen, President and CEO, GE Healthcare. "Equally important is technology to help detect diseases like cancer earlier and I am proud of the progress of GE Healthcare's five-year, $1 billion commitment to developing world-class oncology solutions," he added.

Raising Awareness & Building Online Engagement

This award-winning campaign - now in its third year - is expected to reach several million people worldwide. #GetFit encourages participants to share their healthy habits and join in the challenge via social media. For every healthy habit and tip shared using the #GetFit hashtag, players will receive points and rewards that contribute to fuel a global "health-o-meter" - an interface displaying real-time progression related to the number of participants and their activity. New this year, is a web app that has been developed for mobile users to manage their healthy habits on the go.

#GetFit Challenges

As part of this year's #GetFit campaign, several global challenges have been announced: Move Your Body; Eat Healthy and Own Your health. Participants can select their individual challenges, which focus on; sport, and active lifestyle, sun safety, food and nutrition, smoking and alcohol use. At the start of each challenge, participants can watch a short video with information and advice provided in a user-friendly way to guide and encourage participants on how to break bad habits and form healthy ones.

Participants taking part in the challenge will also be asked to complete a short questionnaire about their lifestyle habits at the beginning and end of the six-week challenge. This will show individuals their progress and how they have positively made lifestyle changes over the duration of the campaign. To further support the campaign, GE Healthcare has commissioned global surveys and additional reviews of recent research, and will release findings in mid-June.