Sarah Lahbati supports 'Kiss Goodbye to Breast Cancer' campaign

CEBU, Philippines - Sarah Lahbati is now the newest celebrity advocate of Avon’s ‘Kiss Goodbye to Breast Cancer’ (KGBC) campaign.

“I felt very honored when I was invited by Avon to be part of this campaign,” begins Lahbati.

“I’m already planning to get my relatives and friends involved in KGBC as well, and help battle the disease considered as the number 1 killer of Filipino women. At the same time, I will also access my supporters through my blog, Facebook account, and Twitter so I can spread awareness on the issue and the message of the campaign,” she adds.

Lahbati feels very passionate about the advocacy, as one of her closest relatives, her cousin, has stage 4 breast cancer. “It was just two years ago when she found out about it,” recalls Lahbati. “And everything happened so fast. I never imagined that one day the disease would happen to someone close to me. Because of what happened to my cousin, I understood the disease more and became aware of it.”

Witnessing her cousin’s battle with the disease, Lahbati realized why spreading the word and becoming aware of the illness is important. “Early detection really is the best defense against breast cancer,” Lahbati points out. “Because my cousin found out about it late already, her condition became severe and there was only so much that can be done to treat her,” shares the young advocate.

“And that’s the most important message that one can take away from Avon’s KGBC campaign. It’s wonderful that they are deepening people’s involvement and equipping everyone with knowledge about the disease through the Let’s Walk the Talk Tour,” says Lahbati. “And with the tour featuring stories of breast cancer survivors, I hope that more individuals will realize how critical the issue is, and why it is every Filipino’s responsibility to help fight it.

She also calls on her fellow youth to join her in supporting the campaign, because as Lahbati stresses “breast cancer has no regard for age, race or economic status.”

While this year is the first time she is officially advocating Avon KGBC, the Moroccan-Filipino actress has always been interested in being part of the campaign, “Because I know that I can help—I can’t just sit back and watch when I know there’s something I can do,” she says with conviction.

Avon, the company for women, is a leading global beauty company, with almost $9 billion in annual revenue. Aside from empowering women with meaningful earning opportunities and quality beauty products, Avon is also the largest corporate supporter of the breast cancer cause. Recently, Avon has announced reaching the new milestone of US$740 million raised and awarded worldwide for access to care and finding a cure for breast cancer. (FREEMAN)