Sep. 28, 2009 (PR Newswire) --

BEDFORD, Mass., Sept. 28 /PRNewswire-FirstCall/ -- Hologic, Inc. (Hologic or the Company) (Nasdaq: HOLX), a leading developer, manufacturer and supplier of premium diagnostics, medical imaging systems and surgical products dedicated to serving the healthcare needs of women, today announced that Jack Cumming, Hologic Chairman and CEO, will preside over the NASDAQ opening bell ceremony in New York City on Thursday, October 1, 2009 at 9:30 a.m. (EST) for the fourth consecutive year to honor the National Breast Cancer Awareness Month and to kick off Hologic's "Promise to Me" campaign. The initiative is focused on increasing awareness of the importance of breast cancer screening and Hologic's funding of mammograms for underserved women.

The American Cancer Society estimates more than 240,000 new cases of breast cancer are diagnosed in the U.S. each year, with one of eight women being inflicted with this deadly disease in her lifetime.(1) "These statistics are overwhelming and we remain deeply committed to helping women worldwide who are afflicted by this dreadful disease," said Mr. Cumming. "Breast cancer screening programs and technologies, such as digital mammography, have gone a long way toward decreasing death rates from breast cancer and we will continue to do so not only with our current technology, but with the introduction of new technologies such as our 3-D Selenia® Dimensions((TM)) digital tomosynthesis system.(2)"

Hologic is the worldwide leader in digital mammography systems with over 5,000 Selenia systems shipped. Digital mammography has set a new standard for providing the earliest detection of breast cancer and Hologic is proud to be the preferred system of choice around the world.

The focus of the Promise to Me campaign is to empower women to take ownership of their health, starting with scheduling an annual mammogram. Program details will be fully available on October 1, 2009, at www.promisetome.com. Through this initiative, Hologic has committed to support women who are unable to afford mammograms, and the Company has done so through a partnership with Remote Area Medical (RAM), a non-profit, volunteer organization dedicated to bringing healthcare services to underserved populations in remote areas in the U.S. and abroad.

"Hologic's focus and concentration on breast cancer is unparalleled," Mr. Cumming said. "No other major healthcare company devotes a higher percentage of its resources to the development and deployment of screening, diagnostic and therapeutic technologies to meet the diverse challenges of this disease.