Alicia Keys stars in breast cancer campaign for Stella McCartney

Alicia Keys has teamed up with Stella McCartney on a breast cancer awareness campaign that aims to encourage women to get regular check-ups.

The singer has filmed a short video alongside the fashion designer ahead of Breast Cancer Awareness Month, which kicks off in October. In the film, Keys sports an ‘Ophelia Whistling' lingerie set by the designer brand, which donates a percentage of the proceeds from the sale of the set to the Memorial Sloan Kettering Breast Examination Center in Harlem, which offers free care within its community. 

"I was raised in Harlem," says the star. "So this really resonates with me, and also my mother is a breast cancer survivor. I don't think I've ever really gotten to share that story, so this is important to me." McCartney also talks about losing her own mother to the disease 19 years ago.

According to statistics, African-American women with breast cancer have a 42 percent higher mortality rate than Caucasian women diagnosed with the disease. "[The higher mortality rate is mainly because they don't get an opportunity to get an early diagnosis or the right kind of treatment," McCartney told WWD. "This really compelled me to reach out to Alicia. I asked her if she would like to reach out and speak to this community and be the face of the campaign."