SOMERVILLE, NJ, Sept. 30, 2008 – Gymnasts Shawn Johnson, 2008 Olympic gold medalist, and Shannon Miller, seven-time Olympic medalist and nine-time World Championship medalist, will be at The Steeplechase Cancer Center at the Somerset Medical Center on Thursday, October 2 from 2 to 3 p.m. to help raise awareness about cancers affecting women. Later this month, the gymnasts will headline Frosted Pink with a Twist, a dynamic television special that joins members of the 2008 U.S. Olympic Gymnastics team with Grammy-Award winning music talent in an effort to collaboratively spotlight women’s cancers.
“So many young women in our community have grown up admiring Shawn and Shannon for their athletic success. We hope that they will bring their mothers, sisters and grandmothers with them on Oct. 2 not only to see their heroes in person, but to learn more about what they can do to prevent cancer and ways they can help identify cancer at its earliest, most treatable stages,” said Katrina Losa, director of The Steeplechase Cancer Center.
The free event was made possible through the support of sanofi-aventis U.S. and is open to the public. Space is limited. Pre-registration is required by calling 908-685-2525.
Frosted Pink with a Twist, airing on ABC on Oct. 12 from 4 to 6 p.m., encourages women that when it comes to women’s cancer, what you do matters; and to get the facts about cancer, share their feelings and experiences to learn from each other, and to prepare for the future by arming themselves with knowledge about cancer risks.
Johnson and Miller are also currently participating in the nationwide 2008 Tour of Gymnastics Superstars through mid-November.
Johnson won a gold medal on the balance beam in the Summer Olympics in Beijing and silver in the women’s individual all-around competition. She was the 2007 all-around World Champion and the 2007 and 2008 U.S. all-around champion.
Miller is one of the most decorated American gymnasts. She won gold on the balance beam at the 1996 Olympic Games in Atlanta and team gold as one of the Magnificent 7 that defeated the Russian gymnastics team for the first time. At the 1992 Olympic Games in Barcelona, she won the silver in the all-around competition, silver on the balance beam, bronze in the floor exercise, bronze on the uneven bars and bronze in the team competition.
The Steeplechase Cancer Center at Somerset Medical Center, which opened in 2007, offers outpatient cancer care services, including the sanofi-aventis Breast Care Program, radiation oncology services, infusion therapy, clinical research studies, oncologists’ offices, nutritional counseling, patient navigator services, complementary medicine services and the sanofi-aventis Wellness Boutique. For more information, see steeplechasecancercenter.com.
Sanofi-aventis U.S. is the presenting sponsor of Frosted Pink with a Twist and is a U.S. affiliate of sanofi-aventis, a leading global pharmaceutical company, that discovers, develops and distributes therapeutic solutions to help improve the lives of patients. Sanofi-aventis is listed in Paris (EURONEXT: SAN) and in New York (NYSE: SNY). For more information, visit: www.sanofi-aventis.us or www.sanofi-aventis.com