TELUS and the Jewish General Hospital Foundation join together to fight breast cancer

TELUS raises $100,000 to help purchase digital mammography equipment for early detection of breast cancer

Montreal (Quebec) – The Jewish General Hospital Foundation is delighted to announce a $100,000 contribution from TELUS to help purchase digital mammography units for the Marlene & Joel King Breast Centre at the Segal Cancer Centre in the JGH of Montreal. Funds for this significant contribution were raised during the TELUS “Go Pink” campaign.

In May 2010, TELUS announced it would donate $25 from every pink BlackBerry sold between May 6 and December 31, 2010 across Canada. The funds raised went towards new digital mammography machines in regional hospitals. The campaign raised a total of more than $2.45 million for women’s breast health across Canada, $100,000 of that right here in Montreal.

Traditional mammogram X-rays do not penetrate dense breast tissue, making it more difficult to interpret results and detect tumours. Digital mammography equipment produces more accurate results with advanced capabilities to generate magnified images of breast tissue to help with the early detection of breast cancer. Access to this advanced digital equipment is limited. Through the success of TELUS’ “Go Pink” campaign and the generosity of TELUS team members, funding will assist in bringing state of the art equipment to the Marlene & Joel King Breast Centre at the Segal Cancer Centre in the JGH of Montreal and help increase the chance of survival from this life-threatening disease.

“Breast cancer remains the most frequently diagnosed cancer in Quebec women,” stated the Centre’s Director, Dr. André Lisbona. “Early detection is crucial to saving lives. Thousands of women and men from Montreal, outlying regions of the city and other areas of Quebec are referred to our Centre annually for further investigation of breast conditions, so this testing is vital to a broader community across the region. Support from private donors as well as the TELUS initiative, combined with the upcoming launch of an expanded and modernized Breast Referral and Investigation Centre, will enable us to improve our imaging technology and to deliver better results to the growing number of women and men who are referred to us each year.”

Dr. Hartley Stern, Executive Director of the Jewish General Hospital, warmly welcomed the contribution from TELUS, adding that this is “yet another example of corporations and individuals recognizing the JGH’s commitment to improving the quality of treatment and care. By working with community-minded companies such as TELUS, the Jewish General Hospital can play a more active role in upgrading the healthcare system as a whole.”

Better detection to save lives
The acquisition of digital mammography units will significantly enhance the treatment offered to patients. In addition to improved early detection of breast cancer, digital mammography has other advantages, including faster image acquisition and the ability for the radiologist to manipulate electronically the images so as to detect subtle abnormalities or to share these images with other experts for multiple assessments. As a result, fewer patients will need to be recalled for additional investigation, sparing them additional psychological stress and exposure to radiation.

“As the Canadian leader in health technologies and a committed corporate citizen, TELUS is convinced that state-of-the-art technology is the key to ensuring the best quality health care for the people of Quebec,” said Paul Lepage, senior vice-president of TELUS Health and Financial Solutions. “Breast cancer is a cause we feel particularly strongly about, as it affects thousands of Quebec women every year. TELUS’ “Go Pink” campaign will give access to high-tech equipment which will help provide early detection and, thus, save precious lives.”

“Go Pink,” a coast-to-coast campaign
Combined with corporate donations from TELUS and those of team members, the Canada-wide TELUS “Go Pink” campaign has raised $2.45 million dollars across the country, and more than $165, 000 in Quebec. The money will fund the purchase of innovative technology for breast cancer screening and treatment in the following healthcare facilities: the CHUQ Foundation, the Montreal Jewish General Hospital Segal Cancer Centre, the Ottawa Hospital Foundation, the BC Women’s Hospital & Health Centre Foundation, the Alberta Cancer Foundation, the Saskatchewan Cancer Agency, and the Princess Margaret Hospital Foundation in Toronto.

About the Jewish General Hospital
Since 1934, the Jewish General Hospital has been a mainstay of superior medical care for generations of patients of all backgrounds. One of Quebec’s largest and busiest acute-care hospitals, the JGH is committed to improving the quality of healthcare for all Quebecers in partnership with the provincial healthcare network. Moreover, The Jewish General Hospital has redoubled its commitment providing patients the best possible care in a clean, safe and human-centered environment. The JGH is able to deliver these pioneering, innovative medical services by strengthening its role as a McGill University teaching hospital, by expanding and upgrading its facilities, and by pursuing cutting-edge research at the Lady Davis Institute for Medical Research. For more information, please visit jgh.ca.

About the Jewish General Hospital Foundation
The Jewish General Hospital Foundation’s mission is to advance health care and medical research for the people of Quebec and beyond by supporting Montreal’s Jewish General Hospital, a tertiary care, McGill University teaching hospital. The JGH Foundation provides essential assistance to the Hospital to enhance its extraordinary patient care, to further scientific discovery and to acquire the most recent and innovative medical equipment. We partner with inspired members of the community to implement a wide variety of fundraising initiatives to achieve these ambitious goals. For more information, please visit jghfoundation.org.

About the Marlene & Joel King Breast Centre at the JGH
In 1998, the Quebec government recognized the proficiency of the Marlene & Joel King Breast Centre in diagnostic radiology, pathology and oncology. As a result, the Centre was designated as a Breast Referral and Investigation Centre, otherwise known as a Centre de référence et d’investigation désigné (CRID)—one of five such centres in Montreal. It provides highly specialized expertise in diagnosing and investigating “suspicious” mammograms and, as such, plays a key role in the Quebec Breast Cancer Screening Program (PQDCS).

About TELUS in Quebec
A vibrant corporate presence in Quebec for nearly 85 years, TELUS currently employs over 5,000 team members in the province. Since 2000, the company has invested nearly $8 billion in the Quebec economy and its infrastructure development. A Canadian industry leader, TELUS offers Quebec communities access to state-of-the-art global communication technologies, at home and in the workplace. In support of its philosophy “We give where we live,” the company has contributed almost $22 million in support of local organizations in the Quebec communities since 2005. Registered charities wishing to submit project funding requests to the TELUS Community Board are invited to apply at any time via the website, at telus.com/community.

About TELUS
TELUS (TSX: T, T.A; NYSE: TU) is a leading national telecommunications company in Canada, with $9.8 billion of annual revenue and 12.3 million customer connections including 7 million wireless subscribers, 3.7 million wireline network access lines and 1.2 million Internet subscribers and more than 300,000 TELUS TV customers. Led since 2000 by President and CEO, Darren Entwistle, TELUS provides a wide range of communications products and services including data, Internet protocol (IP), voice, entertainment and video.

In support of our philosophy to give where we live, TELUS, our team members and retirees have contributed $211 million to charitable and not-for-profit organizations and volunteered 3.7 million hours of service to local communities since 2000. Nine TELUS Community Boards across Canada lead TELUS’ local philanthropic initiatives. TELUS was honoured to be named the most outstanding philanthropic corporation globally for 2010 by the Association of Fundraising Professionals, becoming the first Canadian company to receive this prestigious international recognition.

For more information about TELUS, please visit telus.com.