Stand Up To Cancer (SU2C) has created a new cancer immunotherapy public service announcement (PSA) campaign, supported by a charitable donation from Bristol-Myers Squibb Company, and featuring award-winning actor and SU2C Ambassador Jimmy Smits.
The print, TV, radio, out-of-home and digital PSAs will begin airing in October.
The PSA, titled “Your Body Your Hope,” is aimed at increasing awareness about immunotherapy, a revolutionary new approach to cancer treatment in which a patient’s own powerful immune system is harnessed to attack and destroy cancer cells. One of the most exciting and rapidly evolving areas of cancer research, immunotherapy is already being used to effectively treat several forms of cancer, and is being actively researched in additional cancers.
The PSA encourages patients to visit StandUpToCancer.org/immunotherapy to learn more about immunotherapy and start the conversation with their doctor to find out if it is a viable treatment option for them. Jimmy Smits recorded the PSA in both English and Spanish in the hope of reaching a broad audience with this vital information.
“I am proud and honored to join Stand Up To Cancer in this critical initiative,” said award-winning actor Jimmy Smits, who guest stars in the new season of “How to Get Away With Murder,” the hit TV series. “Immunotherapy is on the cutting edge of cancer treatment and many patients who have been treated with immunotherapy have seen such promising results. Through this PSA, we hope to empower people diagnosed with cancer to ask their doctor if immunotherapy may be the right treatment option for them.”
In the English and Spanish language PSA, Smits says immunotherapy “is bringing hope to cancer survivors everywhere. Immunotherapy works by empowering your body’s own immune system to correctly identify and eradicate cancer cells. This approach has been used to successfully fight many types of cancers, with new research leading to greater hope each day.”
“Immunotherapy is one of the most promising developments in cancer research today,” said Stand Up To Cancer President and CEO, Sung Poblete, Ph.D., RN. “We are thrilled to have the support of this Bristol-Myers Squibb charitable donation, and to have the powerful voice of Jimmy Smits to help raise awareness about the increasing role of immunotherapy as a an effective option for cancer treatment.”
“As a long-standing supporter of Stand Up To Cancer, we share their commitment to advancing groundbreaking research and collaboration, particularly in the field of Immuno-Oncology,” said Johanna Mercier, president and head, U.S. Commercial, Bristol-Myers Squibb. “We are pleased to support their efforts to educate patients and their loved ones about the potential of the body’s immune system in finding and fighting cancer.”
