Regina Hall is known for being funny, but she has recently become serious about her health.
Speaking with PEOPLE, Hall said she had to prioritize her health.
“I have so many people in my life who’ve been affected by breast cancer, family and close friends,” Hall said,
Because of her loved ones who have been diagnosed with breast cancer, Hall noted that early detection is the key.
“They’ve had such incredible roads to recovery,” she says. “I don’t know if it would’ve been the same had they been further along.”
Hall also shared that “some women may delay their screenings because they’re used to putting themselves on the back burner.”
“People’s lives get busy, and it’s very easy to put something off and say, ‘Oh, I’ll do that next week,” said Hall. “And the next week turns into next month, the next month turns into three months.”
To ensure she doesn’t miss her checkups, Hall has reminders on her calendar.
“So I think making sure we do that while we’re thinking of it,” she said. “It’s like a clock, it’s a part of our schedule and something we do for ourselves.”
To bring even more awareness to the cause, Hall partnered with Novartis for their “Your Attention, Please” campaign. The “initiative ” encourages women to understand their breast cancer risk and prioritize early detection.
“I make it as important as everything else is in my life, if not more important, because you can’t do the other things if your health isn’t prioritized,” Hall explained.
“We know our bodies, we know when something doesn’t feel right,” she adds. “It’s important to make sure that when we feel something, that we literally go to our doctors and we advocate, and we get as much information.”
Hall envisions that the campaign will normalize conversations about breast health.
“Making sure that they’re staying on top of their health. And then that makes me make sure I’m staying on top of my health, and vice versa,” Hall said. “I’ll be talking to friends who’ll say, ‘Oh, it’s time for me to get my mammogram.’ And that makes me say, ‘Oh, you know what? It’s time for me to get mine as well.’ ”