CHICAGO, IL — Chicago’s Novian Health is a leader in the effort to raise money to fight breast cancer through the Medline Pink Glove Dance contest. Now it’s down to the wire to see which of the flashy, innovative videos will win the international competition, which concludes tomorrow at midnight CST.

Three healthcare facilities that are conducting clinical trials of Novian Health’s innovative laser treatment for breast cancer are in the running for top honors in the competition.

Competition videos feature healthcare workers and patients wearing pink surgical gloves in eye-catching videos accompanied by music. More than 100 facilities in the US and Europe are competing for top honors.

Novian Health helped in efforts to raise thousands of dollars for breast cancer charities for the 2013 Pink Glove Dance contest. Taking an unusually active role for a small company, Novian Health employees worked closely with three of its clinical trial sites to create catchy, sophisticated videos.

The videos show healthcare workers and patients dancing to upbeat music — all in the name of raising money for partnering charities combating breast cancer. Among the sites is Alexian Brothers Health System, headquartered in Arlington Heights, IL; Rose Medical Center, located in Denver, CO; and Bristol Breast Care Centre in Bristol UK.
Novian Health is urging people to continue to vote online before Friday midnight CST for the three videos. If one of the videos is a winner, it could mean as much as $25,000 for US or €10,000 for Europe team’s charities to support efforts to end the disease and create awareness. Winners will be announced on nationally on Friday, November 15, 2013.

Each of the three Novian Health’s hospital partner sites worked with a charity to create a video:

- Alexian Brothers Health System & Imerman Angels: To view and vote, click here

Illinois USA:

Alexian Brothers Health System’s video features staff members and employees from all four Alexian facilities. Their dance illustrates the key stages of a patient’s fight against breast cancer: screening, diagnosis, radiation and survival. The overriding message is one of hope — having a positive attitude, being surrounded by caring people, and accessing the resources of a state-of-the-art healthcare system. Cancer charity Imerman Angels joined with Novian and Alexian Brothers to produce the video.

- Rose Medical Center & Jill’s Wish: To view and vote, click here

Colorado USA:

Rose Medical Center’s video, made with Novian and charity partner Jill’s Wish, relates the cancer journey of Jill Brzezinski-Conley, who was diagnosed with an aggressive form of breast cancer at the age of 32, just six months after getting married to her husband Bart. Jill is battling a cancer recurrence and has appeared on the “Today Show” and “HuffPost Live” using her story to teach women about the warning signs of breast cancer and to inspire women with cancer about how to live fully despite their disease.

- Southmead Bristol Breast Care Centre & BUST: To view and vote, click here

Bristol UK:

Southmead Bristol Breast Care Centre’s video demonstrates how the doctors and nurses at Breast Centre support patients during their sometimes difficult journey. The centre partnered with BUST: Breast Cancer Unit Support Trust to give hope, confidence and laughter back to their patients and to show them how they can be themselves again. Mr. Simon Cawthorn, consultant breast surgeon in the Novilase Clinical Trial at Southmead Hospital, is featured in the video playing a saxophone alongside fellow consultant surgeon Zenon Rayter playing the accordion.

The top teams that get the most votes receive cash prizes, which they will then donate to the breast cancer charity of their choice. Other prizes will be rewarded for the teams with best story line, most dancers, best choreography, most views, and largest donation amounts raised to fight breast cancer, plus there will be two picks by musical artists.

The Medline Pink Glove Dance started as a YouTube sensation with the original video in 2009 and the sequel video in 2010, which this year has grown into a worldwide contest raising more than $1 million dollars for breast cancer charities.

About Novilase Breast Therapy

Novilase is a laser-based, minimally invasive device for destroying tumors. It provides an alternative to conventional surgery while preserving the patient’s options for additional procedures or adjunctive therapies. The image-guided outpatient procedure does not require general anesthetic or a hospital stay.

When applied to early-stage breast cancer, Novilase ILT may provide women with an ablation option that could result in a lower rate of residual disease. That means fewer retreatments, a shorter recovery time, and minimal scarring and breast deformity. Novilase does not preclude any additional treatment such as radiation therapy and/or systemic adjuvant therapy, per standard of care.

Given the trend toward more precise, targeted cancer treatments, many women today expect less-invasive procedures. Just as needle-core breast biopsy now provides an alternative to surgical biopsy, Novilase ILT may be another option for breast cancer patients who are considering surgical lumpectomy.

About Novian Health

Novian Health Inc., based in Chicago with a subsidiary in Evry, France, is a privately held medical device company developer of proprietary technology for the treatment of tumors using Interstitial Laser Therapy called Novilase® Breast Therapy. Developed as an alternative to surgery, the company’s technology uses parametrically controlled heating for the ablation of tumors. Image-guided treatment of breast tumors is the first application of the technology, with the potential for Novilase to treat tumors elsewhere in the body. Novian Health has received U.S. FDA 510(k) clearance for the treatment of benign breast tumors.

For more information, call (866) 702-3198 or access www.novianhealth.com and www.novilase.com