ComEd Goes Pink in Honor of Breast Cancer Awareness

During the month of October, 500 ComEd crew members from various locations will wear pink hard hats while on the job in honor of Breast Cancer Awareness Month. The pilot program – the Pink Hard Hat Initiative – was developed to promote awareness among ComEd’s customers and employees about breast cancer, and encourage them to learn more about preventative care.

For women in the U.S., breast cancer death rates are higher than those for any other cancer, trailing only lung cancer. Many factors can influence one’s breast cancer risk, and most women who develop breast cancer do not have any known risk factors or a family history of the disease. However, people can survive breast cancer when treated at an early stage. For this reason, ComEd proudly supports efforts to raise awareness about the importance of early detection.

“Empowering, strengthening and supporting our communities is a core value and committed purpose at ComEd,” said Anne Pramaggiore, president and CEO of ComEd. “With so many impacted in so many ways by breast cancer, we hope ComEd’s Pink Hard Hat Initiative will help to raise awareness about the importance of early detection and encourage communities, organizations, families and individuals to be informed and engage the cure.”

Based on current breast cancer incidence rates, experts estimate that about one out of every eight women and one out of every 1,000 men born today will be diagnosed with breast cancer in her or his lifetime. As a result, many of ComEd’s own 6,000 employees have been directly impacted by this disease, either personally or through the close contact of a friend or family member. The impact extends exponentially when you count ComEd's 4 million customers across northern Illinois.

In addition to the Pink Hard Hat Initiative, the Exelon Foundation will match employee donations made to any charitable organization that funds breast cancer research and support programs. For more information on breast cancer and to find a program near you that offers free or low-cost mammograms, visit the Center for Disease Control and Prevention’s website at: http://www.cdc.gov/cancer/breast/.

Commonwealth Edison Company (ComEd) is a unit of Chicago-based Exelon Corporation (NYSE: EXC), the nation’s leading competitive energy provider, with approximately 6.6 million customers. ComEd provides service to approximately 3.8 million customers across northern Illinois, or 70 percent of the state’s population. For more information visit ComEd.com, and connect with the company on Facebook, Twitter and YouTube.