Great Comebacks® Program Announces 2006
National Award Winners
Author Sandra Benitez and Tony Snow Honored for Their
Inspirational Comebacks from Intestinal Diseases, Colorectal
Cancer and Ostomy Surgery
(WASHINGTON, D.C., February 28, 2007) – Sandra Benitez,
mother, teacher and author from Edina, MN, was named this
year’s Great Comebacks® National Award
recipient, and White House advisor Tony Snow was named Honorary
Great Comebacks® Award recipient this evening
at a ceremony in Washington, D.C. Founded in 1984 by former
San Diego Charger and ulcerative colitis patient Rolf Benirschke,
the Great Comebacks® program recognizes the
inspirational achievements of people who prevail over debilitating
intestinal diseases, colorectal cancer and ostomy surgery.
The awards dinner was hosted by program sponsors, ConvaTec,
a world-leading manufacturer of ostomy and wound care products,
and the Crohn’s & Colitis Foundation of America
(CCFA).
An estimated 1.4 million Americans are affected by inflammatory
bowel disease (IBD)(1), a collective term for
Crohn’s disease and ulcerative colitis. In addition,
750,000 Americans are living with an ostomy due to either
IBD, colorectal cancer or other chronic bowel or bladder
diseases.(2)
“Tonight is a celebration of special individuals
like Sandra and Tony, and the growth of a Great Comebacks®
community that offers support to every person living with
IBD, colorectal cancer or an ostomy. Through her autobiography
and her role as a Great Comebacks® ambassador,
Sandra provides hope and encouragement to the thousands
of patients and their families who are facing the daily
challenges of living with these diseases – this is
the mission of the Great Comebacks® program,”
said Rolf Benirschke, chairman of the Great Comebacks®
Committee. “And Tony stands before us as a role model,
exemplifying what the Great Comebacks® program
stands for by refusing to let long-term IBD and colon cancer
limit his ability to succeed.”
Benitez was selected from among four other regional Great
Comebacks® recipients from across the U.S.:
- Northeast: Bob Baker, 45, Washington Depot, CT
- Mid-Atlantic: Thomas Rinkacs, 39, Laurinburg, NC
- South: Julie Vaughan, 36, Plano, TX
- West: Eric Hayes, 46, Carlsbad, CA
Each year, the Great Comebacks® Program
recognizes regional recipients who are living with inflammatory
bowel disease, colorectal cancer and/or an ostomy. Recipients
are chosen by the Great Comebacks® Advisory
Committee.
Sandra Benitez, 2006 National Great Comebacks®
Recipient
Sandra Benitez’ perseverance and courage helped her
accomplish her dreams while overcoming a 30-year struggle
with ulcerative colitis.
In 1993, Benitez published her first novel, A Place
Where the Sea Remembers. The following year, physically
and emotionally drained, she underwent ostomy surgery. It
changed her life by giving back what she thought she had
lost: a happy, fulfilling, pain-free existence. She has
since written four more novels including her first non-fiction
book, a memoir about living with an ostomy, Bag Lady:
The Triumphant True Story of Loss, Illness and Recovery.
Her books have received critical acclaim and local and national
literary awards, and have now been translated into six languages.
Among her most recent accomplishments, Benitez was recently
named by Hispanic Business Magazine one of the
top-100 most influential Hispanic women in the U.S. and
awarded the prestigious Fellowship in Literature by the
George Gund Foundation. Benitez personally considers tonight’s
honor as the 2006 National Great Comebacks®
recipient to be among the most special to her. “This
award is important to me because it combines my life’s
passion, writing, with what has become my life’s work,
improving the lives of other people living with an ostomy
through my experiences as a patient and an ostomate,”
said Benitez.
Tony Snow, Honorary Great Comebacks®
Recipient
This year, the Great Comebacks® program
also selected White House advisor and former Fox News host,
Tony Snow, to receive the Honorary Great Comebacks®
Award. Two years ago as a commentator for Fox News, Tony
Snow learned he had colon cancer. As a long-time colitis
patient, Snow knew he was at high-risk and took immediate
action. Two months after surgery he returned to the airwaves,
encouraged by the well wishes of his audience, and went
on to become a White House advisor in April of 2006. Snow
applauded “the technologies that were available to
me that have me standing behind the podium today”
when he took on this demanding and vital public role. Tonight,
on the second anniversary of his surgery, he celebrates
the doctors and medical advances that have helped him beat
colon cancer and continues to view each day as “a
blessing.”
“Support networks like Great Comebacks®
are important to help and recognize special individuals
like Sandra and Tony, so that we demonstrate first-hand
for people living with intestinal diseases that they are
not alone and can make their own great comeback,”
says Richard J. Geswell, CCFA President.
“Over our 20-year collaboration with CCFA, we have
identified a wide range of inspirational examples of people
living with IBD,” added Dave Johnson, President of
ConvaTec. “These remarkable individuals, from all
walks of life, are an inspiration to us at ConvaTec as we
work to develop new and innovative technologies that enhance
the quality of life for people living with an ostomy.”
More information on the Great Comebacks®
program and this year’s recipients is available at
www.greatcomebacks.com.
About ConvaTec
ConvaTec, a world-leading manufacturer of ostomy and wound
care products with a heritage of caring about patients,
is a Bristol-Myers Squibb Company (NYSE:BMY). Bristol-Myers
Squibb is a global pharmaceutical and related health care
products company. For more information, please call 800-422-8811
or visit www.convatec.com.
About CCFA
The Crohn's & Colitis Foundation of America's
(CCFA) mission is to cure and prevent Crohn's disease and
ulcerative colitis through research, and to improve the
quality of life of children and adults affected by these
digestive diseases through education and support. More than
80 cents of every dollar the Foundation spends goes to mission-critical
programs. CCFA consistently meets the standards of organizations
that monitor charities, including the Better Business Bureau's
Wise Giving Alliance (give.org) and the American Institute
of Philanthropy (charitywatch.org). For more information,
contact CCFA at 800-932-2423 or visit www.ccfa.org.
(1) Crohn’s Disease and Ulcerative Colitis
Organization Web Site. Viewed at: http://www.ccfa.org/about/press/idbfacts.
Accessed August 25, 2006.
(2) Wolfe MJ. UOA Facts and Figures. Ostomy Association
of Boston. March/April 1999. In United Ostomy Association
Inc. Evansville Indiana Chapter Re-Route Newsletter. 2000
Oct;(28)1.Viewed at http://www.ostomy.evansville.net/octobernews2.htm.
Accessed August 25, 2006.
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