16 Oct United Ostomy Associations of America Uncover Ostomy For World Ostomy Day October 17, 2009

Here’s a link to the social media release. Everything you need to post multimedia stories on your websites and blogs is found there.

Here’s the text from the social media release from today:

United Ostomy Associations of America Uncover Ostomy For World Ostomy Day

October 16, 2009

World Ostomy Day in the United States is celebrated on October 17, 2009. As part of its awareness activities, the UOAA partnered with 20 year old actor and model, Jessica Grossman, and the Intestinal Disease Education and Awareness Society to Uncover Ostomy through an Internet awareness campaign found at uncoverostomy.com and facebook.com/uncoverostomy.

“World Ostomy Day is a day we recognize the importance of ostomy surgeries as life-quality improvements for people suffering through terrible illnesses,” said Jessica. “I’ve had my ostomy for six years and every day I am thankful for how healthy I feel because of it. World Ostomy Day is the perfect time to show this publicly.”

Many ostomy patients, especially those who have had recent surgery, are reluctant to talk about the changes made to their body. Living in a society that shuns body waste discussion, ostomy patients often feel alone. Quality of life suffers as ostomy patients may be reluctant to participate in activities they previously enjoyed, like swimming or dating, for fear of adverse social reactions. Estimates suggest 750,000 Americans are living with an ostomy.

In the Uncover Ostomy campaign, Jessica exposes what may be beneath the clothes of 1 out of every 500 Americans. Her thought provoking images are already creating an online buzz with almost 1000 fans supporting the Uncover Ostomy Facebook page in the first two weeks of the campaign. A long-time performer despite a lengthy battle with Crohn’s disease, being in front of a camera was natural for Jessica.

“Most of my friends and family are using Facebook and other social networking sites to communicate with one another these days. We decided to give them something really unique to discuss,” Jessica explains. “We took some barely dressed photos with my bag completely visible. When people see these images they’re going to be really surprised. I don’t know if anyone has ever shown the ostomy in this kind of light before. A lot of people think of ostomy as an old person’s problem. It’s not.”

“Most people have no idea about what an ostomy is. Or if they do, their perception is rooted in misconceptions conveyed to them somewhere along the way. By “uncovering” her ostomy, Jess challenges the misconceptions and stigmas—and leads awareness” said Kristin Knipp, incoming UOAA president. “For the non-ostomate, this campaign is about “uncovering” the stigma that goes along with having an ostomy. Sexy or not, the campaign is certainly accomplishing its goal—to create meaningful dialogue about ostomies. And that’s a good thing.”

END UNITED STATES SOCIAL MEDIA RELEASE

FURTHER INFORMATION

About the UOAA: the United Ostomy Associations of America is an association of affiliated, non profit support groups who are committed to improving quality of life for people who have, or will have, an intestinal or urinary diversion. UOAA is dedicated to providing information, advocacy and service to, and for, its affiliated support groups, their members and the intestinal/urinary diversion community at large.

About Jessica Grossman: Jessica is a 20 year old University of Western Ontario media studies student, an actor and a model. Diagnosed with Crohn’s disease at age 9, Jessica made the decision to have her diseased colon removed at age 13 and undergo ileostomy surgery. Professional studio photographs of Jessica, including her ostomy, are available for media reprint on request.

About IDEAS: The Intestinal Disease Education and Awareness Society is a Canadian non-profit organization with chapters in Vancouver, BC and Windsor, ON. The society’s mission is to eliminate intestinal disease and ostomy-related stigma. Their website serves as an educational resource and their programs aim to enhance life-quality for children and youth suffering from Crohn’s disease, Ulcerative Colitis and other digestive illnesses.

About Ostomy: Ostomies are a category of diversionary surgeries. There are three major types: a colostomy is made from the large intestine (colon); an ileostomy is made from the small intestine (ileum); and a urostomy is a diversion of the urinary tract. The most common reasons for ostomy surgery include inflammatory bowel diseases, cancer, birth defects and trauma.

Social media contact information:
John O’Shaughnessy
604.862.4759
john@jdocommunications.com
Twitter: @joshaughnessy