Wynnewood’s Patti LaBelle has joined forces with the Community Oncology Alliance and CancerCare to remind people to get screened for common cancers like breast, colorectal, cervical, prostate, lung, and skin, in new PSAs that are part of the Time to Screen campaign, writes Melissa Ruggieri for Yahoo News.

For the legendary soul, gospel, R&B, and pop singer, the initiative is personal.

“I was diagnosed with diabetes several years ago and I lost three sisters and great friends to cancer – lung, colon, and so many types of cancer – who didn’t get screened as often as they should have,” she said.

LaBelle has begun focusing on her health since she turned 50 – an age none of her sisters lived to see. “I started early,” she says.

So she has been making sure to stay in shape through regular activities.

“After hearing and seeing my sisters go through so many awful changes, of course, I’ve been trying to stay healthy, not because I’m 77, but because I’d like to turn 78!” Patti LaBelle said. “I hope a lot of people in my life who know what I’ve dealt with taking heed and get checked.”

Read more about Patti LaBelle and her new PSA campaign at Yahoo News.