Henry Schein celebrates 20 years of Practice Pink as cancer burden remains high worldwide
Cancer remains one of the most consequential public health challenges in modern medicine. Latest estimates from the International Agency for Research on Cancer indicate that one in five people worldwide will develop cancer during their lifetime, and an estimated 20.6 million people were diagnosed globally in 2024. Against that backdrop, Henry Schein is marking the 20th anniversary of Practice Pink, a global initiative built around cancer research, prevention, and support for people affected by the disease.
The anniversary gives the program a clear clinical and public health frame. Awareness campaigns alone do not prevent cancer, but they can help channel purchasing power, professional engagement, and local fundraising toward earlier detection, better access to care, and the support services that matter after diagnosis. Over two decades, Henry Schein and its partners have contributed more than US $2.1 million to cancer-related causes through the initiative.
One sentence captures the scale of the challenge: cancer has not become a niche issue, and the need for prevention efforts remains stubbornly broad.
Local fundraising tied to a global cancer agenda
Practice Pink operates through a simple commercial mechanism with public health intent. Henry Schein offers customers a range of pink products, including healthcare consumables, practice supplies, and apparel, and those purchases help support cancer-related initiatives. The structure is familiar in corporate citizenship, but the impact depends on whether the funds are directed to practical needs — research, prevention, early detection, treatment access, and patient support.
Jennifer Kim Field, Vice President and Chief Sustainability Officer at Henry Schein, said the program has evolved from an awareness effort into a longstanding collaborative tradition involving customers, supplier partners, Team Schein Members, and nonprofit organizations. That progression matters because cancer care does not stop at diagnosis. It extends into screening pathways, referral systems, financial barriers, and the lived reality of treatment.
Across participating countries, the program supports organizations tailored to local needs while staying aligned to the same goal: help advance efforts to prevent, detect, and treat cancer. The list includes Ronald McDonald House Charities in the United States and organizations across Europe such as ALADINA in Spain, Cancer Research UK, KWF in the Netherlands, LILT in Italy, and Odyssea in France.
UK sales support Cancer Research UK during October and November
In the United Kingdom, Henry Schein Dental and Medical will donate 5% of sales of select pink products during October and November to Cancer Research UK. The contribution will support research, prevention efforts, early detection, and work aimed at improving access to care. In a country where more than 400,000 cancer cases are diagnosed each year, the emphasis on early detection is clinically relevant. Earlier identification often means less advanced disease at presentation, broader treatment options, and better chances of survival.
Cancer Research UK’s data also show how much progress has been made over time: cancer survival rates in the UK have doubled in the last 50 years. Advances in screening, diagnostics, surgery, radiotherapy, systemic therapy, and supportive care all play a part in that trend. Philanthropic support cannot replace those tools, but it can help sustain the research and prevention ecosystem that keeps them moving.
Corporate citizenship and the dental-medical supply chain
Practice Pink sits within Henry Schein Cares, the company’s global corporate citizenship program, which is celebrating its 25th anniversary this year. The broader company footprint gives the initiative unusual reach. Henry Schein says it serves more than 1 million customers globally through more than 300 solutions that support operational success and clinical outcomes. Its network spans dental and medical practices, laboratories, government and institutional clinics, and other alternate care sites.
That scale matters because supply chains in healthcare influence more than efficiency. They shape which products reach front-line settings, how practices support staff and patients, and how easily a commercial platform can be used to connect daily purchasing with community benefit. In that sense, Practice Pink is less about a seasonal promotion than a recurring mechanism for directing spending toward cancer-related causes.
The company’s U.K. operation, established in 1991 and based in Gillingham, Kent, employs about 1,000 Team Schein Members. Globally, Henry Schein says it has more than 25,000 Team Schein Members and operations or affiliates in 34 countries and territories. The scale of that network helps explain how a fundraising initiative can be adapted across regions while still supporting local cancer organizations.
Prevention, detection, and access remain the center of gravity
The strongest clinical thread in Practice Pink is not branding. It is the choice to focus on prevention, early detection, access to care, and support services. Those are the pressure points where health systems often fail patients first. Screening gaps delay diagnosis. Limited access delays treatment. Social and financial barriers compound the burden of illness after a cancer diagnosis has already been made.
Corporate donations do not solve those problems on their own, but they can reinforce the institutions working on them. When a program like Practice Pink links commercial activity to cancer research and patient support, it places routine purchasing inside a wider public health response. The result is modest in financial terms compared with the overall cost of cancer care, yet it is structurally important: it keeps prevention and early detection visible in a sector that interacts daily with clinicians and patients.
The 20-year anniversary also serves as a reminder that cancer philanthropy has to be sustained, not episodic. Cancer incidence remains high, the global burden continues to rise, and the need for research funding, screening access, and practical patient support has not diminished. Practice Pink now enters its third decade with the same basic premise — but a more urgent backdrop than when it began.