Elizabeth Hurley Shares the Helpful Tip That Stuck with Her When It Comes to Scheduling Her Mammogram
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When the late Evelyn Lauder, Estée Lauder's daughter-in-law, approached Elizabeth Hurley about working on a breast cancer campaign nearly three decades ago, she wasn't aware Hurley had recently lost her grandmother to the disease.
"She was diagnosed at a time when nobody spoke about it," Hurley tells PEOPLE. "She didn't tell us she was sick for a year."
To date, the Estée Lauder Companies' Breast Cancer Campaign and The Estée Lauder Companies Charitable Foundation have funded more than $108 million globally for research, education and medical services. But with one in eight women in the U.S. diagnosed in their lifetime, Hurley, 57, knows the battle is far from over. "Breast cancer doesn't discriminate," she says. "So it's up to all of us to help find that cure."
Here, the campaign's global ambassador reflects on 27 years of fighting to end the disease and shares her smart mammogram-scheduling strategy.
October marks the 30th anniversary of the pink ribbon, which Evelyn Lauder co-created. How has its meaning evolved?
When Evelyn said that her mission was to have the world talk about breast cancer, while also finding a cure, it resonated with me because my grandmother had been diagnosed at a time when she was embarrassed to even talk to her doctor. It was just taboo. It was just amazing to join with Evelyn and change that. We were pioneers. Now awareness is high, and treatments have improved. When I talk to younger people, like my son who's 20, they can't imagine living in a world without the pink ribbon, especially him because he's known that it's been such a big part of my life.
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What was it like to work with Evelyn?
She was an amazing woman. She had unbelievable compassion and the ability to put every person she spoke to at ease. But she had laser beams for when she wanted to get something done, but in the most charming way. In all the years I was with her, I never heard her raise her voice. I never heard her be sarcastic or aggressive, but I also never saw her not get what she wanted because what she wanted was the right thing to get.
Is it true she scheduled your first mammogram as a 40th-birthday gift?
She did. And she made me promise to have regular mammograms after that, and to always think of them in June, my birth month, which I do. Evelyn preached self-detection for those too young for mammograms. She always said women have to be taught at puberty, ideally by a doctor, to check their own breasts—every month, religiously.
Rob Rich Evelyn Lauder and Elizabeth Hurley in 2011
What have been some of your proudest moments as a global ambassador for the campaign?
When people come up to me and say, "I saw your Instagram post about checking your breasts. I checked myself and found a lump and went to the doctor and was diagnosed with cancer. But I've been treated, and I'm okay." Those are the achievements that really tick the boxes.
What are some of the biggest misconceptions about breast cancer?
Some people will still think breast cancer is a death sentence, whereas in fact, we know it's 90% curable if found early. People need to know that. They also need to know that if they ignore it, if they don't self check, if they don't have regular mammograms when they're of suitable age, it could still be very bad. It's not rosy.
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Breast cancer is still the world's most commonly diagnosed cancer. Is it reasonable to think we can ever eradicate the disease?
The researchers tell us yes. The only difference between today and that day is money. Fundraising is something we should all contribute to if we can. Mortality rates have dropped more than 40 percent since 1989, but women are still dying—and that's why we're still trying.
