'Sharing Miracles' Television Program Extends Reach Across America: First Episode Features Former White House Press Secretary Tony Snow

'Sharing Miracles' Television Program Extends Reach Across America: First Episode Features Former White House Press Secretary Tony Snow

WASHINGTON, Jan. 4 /PRNewswire-USNewswire/ -- Beginning in January, Sharing Miracles -- a 30-minute public affairs television program about health care that features compelling and inspirational stories told by patients -- will begin airing each Sunday in 16 cities around the country.

Hosted by former Congressman and cancer survivor Billy Tauzin, now the president and CEO of the Pharmaceutical Research and Manufacturers of America (PhRMA), Sharing Miracles is designed to raise awareness about medical advances that improve the quality of people's lives. Sharing Miracles is produced by PhRMA's Communications & Public Affairs Department.

The new show will also help to spread the word about the Partnership for Prescription Assistance, a program sponsored by America's pharmaceutical research companies to help uninsured and underinsured Americans find access to the medicines they need for free or nearly free. The Partnership for Prescription Assistance has already helped nearly 5 million Americans.

The first episode features former White House Press Secretary Tony Snow, who is battling colon cancer. Future programs will highlight two-time cancer survivor and motivational speaker Sean Swarner, who has climbed the tallest mountains on each of the seven continents in memory of cancer victims; "Leave it to Beaver" television star Jerry Mathers, who is fighting diabetes; North Carolina State University Hall of Fame basketball coach and breast cancer patient Kay Yow; syndicated television talk show host Montel Williams, a multiple sclerosis sufferer; Telemundo personality Mayte Prida, a breast cancer survivor; and pop icon and Broadway star Deborah Gibson, who has suffered from depression.

In this month's show, Snow explains how "sickness stretches your soul, opens your eyes, and introduces you to a world of unimagined grandeur, possibility and joy. You realize what life's blessings are. Everything that is wonderful becomes more intensely wonderful and all the things that you love, you more intensely love."

Each show features lively discussions that are informative and that convey messages of hope to patients around the country -- and to their family members and friends -- who must confront debilitating medical conditions every day.

Sharing Miracles will air on Sunday mornings on the following network-affiliated stations:

-- WUSA-TV (CBS), Washington, DC, 11:30 a.m.-12 noon
-- WCIA-TV (CBS), Springfield/Champaign, IL, 10:30 am-11 am
-- WLAJ-TV (ABC), Lansing, MI, 11 am-11:30 am
-- KOVR-TV (CBS), Sacramento, CA, 6 am-6:30 am
-- WBRZ-TV (ABC), Baton Rouge, LA, 11 am-11:30 am
-- WAPT-TV (ABC), Jackson, MI, 9 am-9:30 am
-- WOWK-TV (CBS), Charleston/Huntington, WV, 11:30 am-12 noon
-- WSYX-TV (ABC), Columbus, OH, 7:30 am-8 am
-- WNAC-TV (FOX), Providence, RI, 10:30 am-11 am
-- WMTW-TV (ABC), Portland/Augusta, ME, 11:30 am-12 noon
-- KHBB-TV (ABC), Helena/KFBB-TV (ABC), Great Falls, MT, 10 am-10:30 am
-- KIVI-TV (ABC), Boise, ID, 8 am-8:30 am.

For free DVDs of Sharing Miracles, please contact the PhRMA press line at 202-835-3460.

The show's corresponding Web site, www.sharingmiracles.com, is an interactive forum for people to relate their own personal stories of hope and survival. Every patient's battle is unique, but the collective power of shared experiences can offer great help and courage to others who are fighting for their lives.

For information on how to find patient assistance programs that may meet their needs, patients should call toll-free 1-888-4PPA-NOW (1-888-477-2669) to speak with a trained specialist or visit www.pparx.org.

The Pharmaceutical Research and Manufacturers of America (PhRMA) represents the country's leading pharmaceutical research and biotechnology companies, which are devoted to inventing medicines that allow patients to live longer, healthier, and more productive lives. PhRMA companies are leading the way in the search for new cures. PhRMA members alone invested an estimated $43 billion in 2006 in discovering and developing new medicines. Industry-wide research and investment reached a record $55.2 billion in 2006.

PhRMA Internet Address: http://www.phrma.org/

For information on stories of hope and survival, visit: http://sharingmiracles.com/

For information on how innovative medicines save lives, visit: http://www.innovation.org/

For information on the Partnership for Prescription Assistance, visit: http://www.pparx.org/

For information on the danger of imported drugs, visit: http://www.buysafedrugs.info/

First Call Analyst:
FCMN Contact:

Source: Pharmaceutical Research and Manufacturers of America

CONTACT: Kate Michael of Pharmaceutical Research and Manufacturers of
America, +1-202-835-3460

Web Site:

http://www.buysafedrugs.info/
http://www.innovation.org/
http://www.phrma.org/
http://www.pparx.org/
http://www.sharingmiracles.com/

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