NASHVILLE (AP) - A Nashville-based cancer information organization is updating its image, long tied to country comic Sarah Cannon's character Minnie Pearl.
What had been the Minnie Pearl Cancer Foundation became PearlPoint Cancer Support on Tuesday, according to The Tennessean (http://tnne.ws/XdfdMl ).
PearlPoint CEO Susan Earl Hosbach said name recognition of the character wasn't strong with younger people, but the major issue was who was a cancer survivor. The real person, Cannon, beat the disease.
Cannon survived breast cancer. She died in 1996, five years after retiring because of a stroke.
In a statement Tuesday, PearlPoint said the update helps clarify its role as a nonprofit organization providing guidance for cancer patients, guided by what it called the "caring and generous spirit of Minnie Pearl" as a core value.