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MIAMI (CBS4) ―
The competition between television networks is usually fierce, but a big fundraiser to raise awareness and money for cancer research will unite them on September 5th.

Stand Up To Cancer is a unique joint mission involving the three television networks, movie studios and A-list celebrities who are coming together in the fight against cancer.

More than 60 celebrities will participate in Stand Up to Cancer, a live fund- and awareness-raising television special that will air simultaneously on CBS, ABC, and NBC.

CBS Evening News Anchor Katie Couric and actress Abigail Breslin met with cancer patients at The Children's Hospital of Philadelphia for a story that will air during the Stand Up To Cancer special.

"I've lost my husband and my sister to cancer because there were no effective treatments," Couric told CBS4 health specialist Dr. Sean Kenniff. "Together we can move research forward and start coming up with better treatments and possibly one day even a cure."

Couric hopes this television collaboration will rally the public to take a personal stand against cancer and raise money for cancer research.

"Fewer than 1 in 10 promising research proposals is currently funded by the government," said Couric. "Normal American citizens have to take up the slack and I really think we are on the cusp of some amazing, effective discoveries that will really not only prolong lives but hopefully, ultimately save lives."

Breslin, the 12 year old star of "Little Miss Sunshine," lost her grandfather to lung cancer, and will be in a movie called "My Sisters Keeper" with Cameron Diaz about a family struggling with cancer.

"We're trying to get people to come together to support cancer research and help scientist get new treatments," said Breslin.

Pearce Quesenberry, 10, has been invited to appear on the special show with Breslin. She has a deadly kind of brain cancer.

"People think 'Oh you have cancer it's really bad', but it's really bad. Like all the stuff you have to go through yeah. It's a lot," said Pearce.

She is getting experimental treatment. It's the kind of cutting edge research that Stand Up to Cancer may help pay for.

The Stand Up To Cancer special will feature all sorts of celebrities, including Jessica Alba, Halle Berry, Jack Black, Sheryl Crow, Ellen DeGeneres, Jennifer Garner, Diane Keaton, Rob Lowe, Sharon Osbourne, Keanu Reeves and Carrie Underwood.

"Hopefully we'll inspire people, we'll start a real movement and we'll say you know, we're mad as hell and we're not going to take it anymore and we want to be a part of the solution" said Couric.

The celebrities, along with network news anchors Couric, Charles Gibson and Brian Williams, will deliver an evening of "edutainment," said executive producer Laura Ziskin, a cancer survivor who helped establish the event and the nonprofit group behind it.

"There will be laughter. There will be tears. And you'll learn something about how we can turn the outcome of this disease if we just set our minds to it," Ziskin said.

Ziskin described the special as "a phone-in, a sit-in, a love-in."

"People can call in and talk to their favorite celebrity" when making donations, Ziskin said.

Mariah Carey, Beyonce, Mary J. Blige and Rihanna are among a group of singers who will debut their single, "Just Stand Up," which will benefit cancer research.

The aim of the event is to encourage scientists to work together to improve overall cancer care and prognoses, Ziskin said.

"This is what we're asking the whole cancer community to do," she said. "Put aside your competitive issues and come together for the greater good."

During the show the stars will be on hand at the celebrity phone bank to take donation calls. Stand Up To Cancer will air on CBS4 on September 5th, beginning at 8 p.m.

If you want to find out more about the event and how to help, go to the website standup2cancer.org.

(© MMIX, CBS Broadcasting Inc. All Rights Reserved.)

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