The McGrath Foundation is reminding young Australians today that ‘if you grow them, you need to know them’ through the launch of their world leading breast awareness education initiative, Curve Lurve, with research revealing 50% of Australian women aged 20 to 40 do not conduct regular breast awareness sessions.

The innovative Curve Lurve program aims to empower young women in particular to look after and know their bodies, and to take action that promotes their health and wellbeing.

Complete with a free Curve Lurve iPhone app to help women conduct regular breast awareness sessions, the Curve Lurve program also includes resources for high schools, the workplace and the community with workbooks, presentations and videos available for free download from the McGrath Foundation website www.mcgrathfoundation.com.au.

McGrath Foundation CEO, Kylea Tink, says the development of Curve Lurve has been enabled in part by the $1.2 million donated by Australians following Jane McGrath’s passing in 2008, along with additional financial support from McGrath Foundation Corporate Friends, Pfizer and Vodafone.

“Jane was just 31 when she was first diagnosed with breast cancer and she was passionate about telling her story to make other young Australians breast aware,” Kylea says. “Following her passing, we set aside the money specifically to develop a program to increase breast awareness in the Australian community ‘ which means that Curve Lurve is an initiative for Australians, made possible by Australians.

“Curve Lurve is a comprehensive program, providing tailored content for different age groups and is complete with a fun and cheeky Curve Lurve iPhone app,” Kylea says. “The app is easy to use, fun and best of all, it’s free, so we urge all Australian women to download it and use it to be breast aware.”

McGrath Foundation Ambassador and Director, Tracy Bevan, believes Curve Lurve is reflective of the Foundation’s values of fun, friendship and innovation and will make a huge difference, providing people with the right tools and information to be breast aware.

“So today is a proud day as we launch Curve Lurve because not only do we know the impact it will have on generations to come, but we are continuing Jane’s legacy by fulfilling one of her wishes as well as continuing our mission to ensure every family experiencing breast cancer in Australia has access to a breast care nurse no matter where they live or their financial situation.”

McGrath Foundation Chairman and Co-Founder, Glenn McGrath, is thrilled to see the Foundation continue to innovate and grow and thinks Curve Lurve is important for the whole community.

“My family and I and the entire team at the McGrath Foundation are so proud of how far we’ve come over the past five years and we know that today’s launch of Curve Lurve could not be possible without the generosity of the Australian public, our Corporate Friends and our dedicated and passionate team making our tagline of ‘together we can make a difference’ absolutely true to a fault. Together, we have created a meaningful and practical way we can honour Jane’s legacy ‘ in our schools, our workplaces and our homes ‘ and we couldn’t be more proud,” Glenn said.

“So guys, I encourage you to get on board. Learn fact from fiction and support the significant people in your life in taking care of themselves and knowing their own bodies.”

Curve Lurve has been developed with an Ambassador program, a retro-style brand and its own conversation to ensure the breast awareness message is fun and accessible. Hi-5 cast member Lauren Brant was among the Curve Lurve Ambassadors at today’s launch.

“Curve Lurve is a cool, funky and fun way to reach all Australians and encourage everyone to become more breast aware,” the 24-year-old auburn-haried TV personality says. “I love the Curve Lurve app because it’s interactive and you can personalise it so each of us can become a Curve Lurve pin-up girl! I’ve already personalised my app and, of course, my Curve Lurve girl is a red-head! I’ve called her Loli, which is my nickname, and I’ve chosen the old Tom Jones song She’s a Lady to personalise my regular breast awareness sessions. Curve Lurve recognises everyone is different and offers an empowering way to love yourself, to know your body and to look after yourself in a way that’s really fun.”

Curve Lurve Ambassador and Open Water Swimming World Champion Melissa Cunningham, who was diagnosed with breast cancer at the age of 37, believes a program like Curve Lurve would have changed her breast cancer experience.

“The thing that really resonates for me about Curve Lurve is that it recognises everyone is different ‘ knowing what’s normal for you is really important because what’s normal for you is different to your best friend’s ‘normal’ and your sister’s ‘normal’ – the Curve Lurve app not only reminds you to conduct breast awareness sessions, it also allows you to identify and keep track of changes to your own body,” Melissa says. “When I was diagnosed, my breast cancer was stage 3 and when I look back now there were very obvious signs that I thought were other things. I’m in recovery now, but if I’d been more breast aware and if I’d had access to a tool like the Curve Lurve app, I think breast cancer would have been a very different experience for me. So, I’m also encouraging everyone to download the app and to have some fun personalising it and using it. Curve Lurve is educating us about breast awareness in a new way ‘ it’s not so intense and serious, rather it’s fun, funky and individual.”