LOS ANGELES – Adult performer-producer James Deen’s promise to donate 50 percent of two websites’ profits to breast cancer charities resulted in a Breast Cancer Awareness Month donation of more than $5,000.
Living Beyond Breast Cancer, National Breast Cancer Foundation and The Rose—all committed to breast cancer prevention, treatment and research—split the funds consumers generated at JamesDeen.com and JamesDeenStore.com.
Breast Cancer Awareness Month runs from Oct. 1-31. Deen said the annual observance has special significance for him.
“I’ve witnessed many of my loved ones—from family to close friends—fight various forms of cancer, so for me, there’s a personal element to this donation,” he said. “I know people who have beaten it, and others who haven’t, so if I can make a positive impact on the war against cancer, I’m all for it.
“I’ve had both a friend and a family member diagnosed with breast cancer, but regardless of the type, I think a fight against one cancer is a fight against all,” he added.
Deen’s effort attracted attention from mainstream media, not only because the funds were produced by adult entertainment, but also because Deen performs on both sides of the mainstream-adult line.
“With ‘so much cancer’ in his life, [adult] film star James Deen decided he wanted to use his celebrity to help raise money,” wrote Vocativ’s Luke Malone. “He spoke with his mother about how to best move forward, and they agreed that Breast Cancer Awareness Month seemed like the perfect opportunity.”
According to the National Breast Cancer Foundation, one in eight women will be diagnosed with breast cancer during their lifetime. Those whose cancer is detected early have a 98-percent survival rate after five years.
