GE Healthcare's New Campaign Wants to Prevent You From Getting Cancer, and 'Get Fit'

Over one and a half million people were diagnosed with cancer in 2011, and a little over a half million died, according to the American Cancer Society.

GE Healthcare thinks those numbers are too high, so today it premiered its “Get Fit” campaign to encourage people worldwide to tweet for the next two months about what they’re doing, health and fitness-wise, to reduce their chances of getting cancer.

According to its press release, GE Healthcare plans the campaign as a global competition, where people will compete against each other to “get fit,” then tweet about what they’re doing. At the end of the two-month period, $20,000 will be donated to either the Red Cross or the Red Crescent Society in a country chosen by the winning continent, according to the press release.

“GE Healthcare has a long history of creating medical solutions that enable physicians to discover, diagnose and treat cancer,” said John Dineen, CEO of GE Healthcare. “And while ‘Get Fit’ is a friendly competition, there is a serious message behind it — in addition to all the initiatives launched by the company such as healthymagination and Health Ahead, GE Healthcare is committed to making a significant change in the fight against cancer. We believe that combining a healthy lifestyle with earlier detection of cancer through the development of technology breakthroughs will make a real impact on a person’s likelihood of developing cancer.”

According to the World Health Organization (WHO), nearly 30 percent of all cancer deaths can be prevented, the press release states. Sadly, WHO estimates that deaths from cancer worldwide will equal 11 million people in 2030. 

Certainly there are many things we can do to reduce our cancer risk – stop smoking, eat more fruits and vegetables and less red meat, exercise more. Research confirms that a healthy diet and regular exercise can help reduce the risk of cancer, the GE Healthcare press release says.

Want to participate in “Get Fit”? All you need is access to the Internet and a Twitter account. Then simply ‘tweet’ about what you’re doing to achieve a healthier lifestyle. Maybe it’s jogging an extra mile, cycling to work, cutting back on calories, having fish instead of french fries for dinner.

Each tweet must include the specific “Get Fit” hash tag for the participant’s country, which can be found on the “Get Fit” web page at http://www.ge.com/getfit. As long as the hash tag is included in the tweet, then it doesn’t matter which language is used for the tweet, according to the press release.

The “Get Fit” web page will show which continent is getting the most “healthy tweets,” and participants can watch their continent change from a “risky red” to a “healthier green,” the press release says.” The map will also show who’s ahead by plotting how many tweets have been generated by each country, and the country’s ra nking among its continental neighbors.

The winning continent will be the first to turn all green, or the continent that has progressed furthest down the color spectrum outlined on the map, according to the press release. At the end of the competition, an open vote will be held to determine which country on the winning continent will receive the $20,000 donation to the Red Cross or Red Crescent Society operating in that country.

So on your mark, get set, get fit!

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