RENTON, Wash. – The Seattle Seahawks, in partnership with Virginia Mason Franciscan Health, the team's Official Medical Services Provider, today announced cancer awareness activities to promote early detection through the NFL's Crucial Catch: Intercept Cancer initiative. The Seahawks will host the team's annual Crucial Catch game on October 22 vs. the Arizona Cardinals. In celebration of the campaign kickoff, representatives from the Seahawks and Virginia Mason Franciscan Health hosted a ceremonial raising of the Crucial Catch flag today at Lumen Field.

"Virginia Mason Franciscan Health is proud to continue this partnership with the Seattle Seahawks to educate and bring vital awareness to the importance of annual screenings for early cancer detection," said Ketul J. Patel, CEO of VMFH and President, Pacific Northwest Division, CommonSpirit Health. "Each one of us knows someone who has been impacted by cancer, and early detection can save lives and increase treatment options. I strongly encourage everyone to talk with their healthcare provider about recommended cancer screenings."

Each year, every NFL team hosts a Crucial Catch game featuring on-field and in-stadium activations. To encourage scheduling regular health care screenings, fans will see a variety of colors in the Crucial Catch logo and on gameday that represent the multiple cancers that can be detected early, including:

• Navy: Colon Cancer
• Pink: Breast Cancer
• Lavender: All Cancers
• Teal: Cervical Cancer
• Blue: Prostate Cancer
• Gold: Childhood Cancers
• White: Lung Cancer

Pregame at the Seahawks' Crucial Catch game, fans can visit Virginia Mason Franciscan Health's Mobile CT Lung Cancer Screening Trailer in Touchdown City. Staff onsite will help fans who qualify to sign-up for future lung screenings, ring the Crucial Catch Remission Bell and check out the new robotic arm technology used during lung cancer surgeries. Fans can find out if they qualify for a lung cancer screening at vmfh.org/lungscreening.

Throughout the month of October, the Seahawks will donate 12% of the proceeds from in-store Seahawks Pro Shop purchases of official Crucial Catch gear to the Crucial Catch Fund. In partnership with Virginia Mason Franciscan Health, the Crucial Catch Fund will help local patients who cannot cover the incidental costs of cancer treatment. At the team's Crucial Catch game, $0.25 for every bottle of water purchased will be donated to the Crucial Catch Fund. Fans can also donate to the Crucial Catch Fund at buy.seahawks.com.

This year, to specifically improve breast cancer outcomes, the NFL and the American Cancer Society added a new Links to Care Community Grants pilot project. The pilot project aims to create connections between community health centers and NFL team-affiliated hospitals to ensure patients complete recommended screenings, follow-up care and treatment. Virginia Mason Franciscan Health was selected as one of six grant recipients in NFL markets.

Visit www.seahawks.com for more.

About the Seattle Seahawks

The Seattle Seahawks joined the National Football League (NFL) in 1976 as an expansion team. The Seahawks have won 11 division titles and three conference championships. They are the only team to have played in both the American Football Conference (AFC) and the National Football Conference (NFC) championship games. They have appeared in three Super Bowls, (Super Bowl XL, Super Bowl XLVIII and Super Bowl XLIX). The Seahawks defeated the Denver Broncos, 43-8, in Super Bowl XLVIII to win their first title. The team plays at Lumen Field in downtown Seattle. Making an impact off the field has always been one of the organization's top areas of focus. The club supports nearly 2,500 charities around the Pacific Northwest and beyond and uses its unique and powerful platform to support community programs around the region.

About Virginia Mason Franciscan Health

Virginia Mason Franciscan Health is an integrated health system serving the Puget Sound region, offering access to some of the country's most prestigious experts and hospitals that are internationally known for superior quality. With a team of 18,000 team members, including nearly 5,000 employed physicians and affiliated providers, we unite the brightest healthcare minds in the region to provide world-class clinical excellence at 10 hospitals and nearly 300 sites of care throughout the Puget Sound area. We are proud to be the home of Bailey-Boushay House, the first skilled nursing and outpatient chronic care management program in the United States designed specifically to meet the needs of people with HIV/AIDS, and Benaroya Research Institute, which is internationally recognized for autoimmune disease research. We embrace our community's uniquely vibrant, active culture by providing holistic, personalized and patient-centered care. We are committed to caring for the most vulnerable in our communities, especially the poor and underserved, providing more than $300 million in community benefit – free, subsidized, and reduced cost health care and programs. Learn more at www.vmfh.org.