DYAN CANNON - CANNON THRILLED TO SUPPORT BIRTHMARK CHARITY

CANNON THRILLED TO SUPPORT BIRTHMARK CHARITY

Actress DYAN CANNON is championing a new campaign to bring awareness to children born with disfiguring birthmarks. The former ALLY MCBEAL star was touched by the story of one baby born with a dangerous vascular birthmark on her nose and jumped at the chance to become a national spokesman for the Hemangioma Treatment Foundation, which raises money for children's plastic surgery operations. She says, "It (hemangioma) grew on her nose and the kids started to call her Rudolph, and it grew on her nostrils so she couldn't breathe. "Besides being disfigured, they can be very unhealthy." Cannon, who joins MATTHEW PERRY and SUSAN SARANDON among the celebrities raising awareness about hemangiomas, stars in a touching new TV ad with the little girl, KRISTIN, who first touched her heart. Surgery removed Kristin's dangerous birthmark and, after urging the tot to "turn around and show them how beautiful you are," the little girl reveals she's free of her disfiguring hemangioma. Cannon says, "Doesn't it feel good to talk about things that help people?"