The event brought together medical professionals, patient advocates, survivors and public health agencies to promote progress in treating and curing cancer and improving the lives of those impacted by cancer diagnoses.

Blige expressed her experience has led her to dedicate time and resources toward increasing awareness of the importance of preventative screenings for cancer and to help blunt the pronounced impact cancer has on Black women.

The R&B singer was lead advocate in Hologic’s first national “Her Health Is Her Wealth” campaign which aired during Super Bowl LVI that stress the importance of preventive screenings and how making your health a priority is real love.

“There are … misconceptions about mammograms for Black women,” she said. “May fear a cancer diagnosis and becoming a burden on the family if diagnosed. And while the screening rate for Black women and White women are comparable, Black women are more likely to be screened at lower resource facilities and also experience longer intervals between detection, diagnosis and treatment.”

“I lost aunts, not an aunt, but several family members to breast cancer, a grandmother to cervical cancer, lung cancer and it just keeps going on and on and on,” Ms. Blige said while choking up. “I’m convinced that if all my aunts, my godmothers my grandparents had seen campaigns like this … they would have a different outcome today.”

The American Cancer Society estimates that 1.9 million new cancer cases will be diagnosed 609,360 people will die of cancer diseases in 2022 alone.

Under Joe Biden’s Cancer Moonshot, the White House is aiming to cut cancer fatalities by 50% over the next 25 years and improve the lives of cancer patients.