The Atlanta Falcons have teamed up with Winship Cancer Institute of Emory University and Emory Healthcare, the official team healthcare provider of the Falcons, to encourage annual breast cancer screenings through the "Crucial Catch" campaign.

October is National Breast Cancer Awareness Month and the Falcons will host the team's annual Crucial Catch game on Sunday, Oct. 3 vs. the Washington Football Team at Mercedes-Benz Stadium.

"Routine breast cancer screenings and getting expert treatment in the early stages if cancer is detected are the most reliable strategies to prevent deaths from breast cancer," says Kevin Kalinsky, MD, MS, director of the Emory Glenn Family Breast Center at Winship Cancer Institute and associate professor in the Department of Hematology of Medical Oncology, Emory University School of Medicine.

Breast cancer is sometimes found after symptoms appear, but many women with breast cancer have no symptoms. The benefit of screenings and imaging is finding cancer early, when it's small and has not spread, which makes it easier to treat.

"The message is more important than ever now due to those who have missed or put off breast cancer screenings because of concerns caused by COVID-19," says Kalinsky.

The Emory Breast Imaging Center recommends:

• Annual mammograms for all women beginning at age 40
• A risk assessment by age 30 to see if you are at an increased risk for breast cancer—particularly Black and Jewish women and those with a strong family history. For some women, screening before age 40 might be beneficial.

To encourage scheduling regular mammograms, Falcons fans will see the color pink throughout the Crucial Catch game, including a large pink ribbon that will be stretched across the field during halftime. Mercedes-Benz Stadium will also light the stadium pink on Oct. 15, which is National Mammography Day.

Falcons fans are encouraged to learn more about breast cancer screenings, when to begin making annual appointments and your risk-factors at emoryhealthcare.org/crucialcatch.