Cindy Crawford on Stand Up To Cancer: 'It's human and connects all of us'

Wonderwall, Saturday, September 11, 2010, 7:20am (PDT)

By Jen Odell, with reporting by Molly McGonigle

As dozens of stars reminded us across all the major networks Friday night: Cancer doesn't discriminate. That's a lesson Cindy Crawford learned at an early age when she lost her brother to leukemia, and it's a big part of why she's an avid supporter of the annual Stand Up To Cancer telethon. At last night's televised fundraiser, Wonderwall spoke to the supermodel and mother of two about facing the disease with loved ones, leading a healthy lifestyle and the importance of connecting with others about the issue.

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On her friend's battle with cancer:

"My friend's a cancer survivor. And it's still a big deal. She still has to go and get checked and get monitored and scanned and get her blood work done. But it's scary. She's a mother and I'm a mother."

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On trying to teach her kids to live healthy:

"You know, at that point you start to feel more concerned for your kids. I think every single person here knows someone who has lost someone to cancer or is fighting cancer. I think the important thing is that you don't really just teach your kids; I've learned is that you have to lead by example. That's the most powerful tool to teach kids — just to show them."

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On living a clean lifestyle:

"We don't smoke, we try to be healthy ... I think we're lucky that we live in Southern California and it's pretty easy to lead a healthy lifestyle here."

On why she got involved with Stand Up To Cancer:

"The cool part is we don't have to convince people to give because they've already made the decision to donate. We're just like the little treat. It's cool. You never know who you are going to get on the phone. It's something very human that connects all of us. We'll talk to people who have fought cancer themselves or know someone with cancer. It's just all about making that connection."