22
January
2007
|
01:00 AM
America/Los_Angeles

Give Love, Give Life Benefit for Ovarian Cancer set for Feb. 22 at the Gibson Amphitheatre at Universal Citywalk

Willie Nelson, Jackson Browne, John Trudell to Perform in Concert Presented by Gibson Foundation

Los Angeles- January 22, 2007 - Legendary artists Willie Nelson, Jackson Browne, and John Trudell will come together for Give Love, Give Life, a benefit concert to raise awareness about ovarian cancer and support the Cedars-Sinai Women’s Cancer Research Institute (WCRI) at the Samuel Oschin Comprehensive Cancer Institute.

The concert will be held on Thursday, February 22, 2007, 8 p.m. at the Gibson Amphitheatre at Universal CityWalk. It is presented by Gibson Foundation, the philanthropic arm of Gibson Guitar, and produced in association with Live Nation. Tickets are on sale now at the Gibson Amphitheatre Box Office, at all Ticketmaster locations, and at www.ticketmaster.com.

Today, in the United States, one woman will be diagnosed with a gynecologic cancer every seven minutes. That’s over 200 women who will be diagnosed just today and close to 80,000 women this year. In sum, these diseases will kill 30,000 women this year alone.

“How high does the body count have to go before we call this an epidemic?” asked John Trudell. “In a coherent thinking society, we would recognize there is a cancer epidemic in this country. In a clear thinking society, we would take responsibility rather than remain in denial about the seriousness of this issue,” he said.

”If detected early, a majority of gynecologic cancers can be cured,” said Dr. Beth Karlan, an internationally recognized gynecologic cancer surgeon and research scientist, and Director of WCRI.

“Most women, however, are unfamiliar with the symptoms. Every effort to educate women and their loved ones about the signs and symptoms of gynecologic cancers will help save women’s lives,” she advised.

One unique aspect of the Give Love, Give Life concert is that it features men taking a stand for women. In fact, solely having male artists perform was intentional. Each of the artists on the bill has long been engaged in peace, environmental and social justice issues, but this is the first time they have collaborated on a show focused on women’s health and women’s cancers.

“Give Love, Give Life is oriented toward recognizing, acknowledging and respecting the feminine part of life,” explained Trudell, “The women in our lives – grandmothers, mothers, daughters, sisters, wives, aunts, nieces and cousins – are what make us whole as human beings. It’s time to do something good for the women,” he commented.

The Give Love, Give Life benefit is part of a growing movement to build awareness and educate the public about women’s health issues in general, and ovarian and gynecologic cancers specifically. Just this month, a coalition of women’s health groups succeeded in securing signage of legislation called ‘Johanna’s Law,' a bill to fund education and outreach about the symptoms of gynecologic cancer. Dr. Karlan and WCRI were integral to passing the legislation and see the Give Love, Give Life benefit concert as part of the same effort. Give Love, Give Life is also a means to bring celebrity status to bear on the issue, and thereby reach a broader audience.

One hundred percent of the net proceeds from the show will benefit the Cedars-Sinai Women's Cancer Research Institute, a multidisciplinary program working to end cancer as a threat to women through research, education, early detection and prevention. Under the leadership of Dr. Beth Karlan, WCRI works side by side with Cedars-Sinai's patient care programs and services to integrate innovative research across a wide spectrum of programs devoted to preventing, diagnosing and treating women's cancers.

To increase revenue raised from the benefit, WCRI is holding a special VIP after-show reception with the talent.

Give Love, Give Life was organized and produced by Faye Brown, David Bushell, and Debra MacCulloch.

For VIP information and ticket packages, contact Christina Watts at 310/423-6786, or tickets@givelovegivelife.org. To schedule interviews, contact Janet Keller at 310/423-6635, or Janet.Keller@cshs.org.

About Gibson Foundation

Founded in 2002, Gibson Foundation is committed to making the world a better place for children by creating, developing and supporting programs and other non-profit organizations in their efforts to advance education, music and the arts, the environment and health & welfare. Gibson Foundation is the philanthropic arm of the Gibson Guitar Corp., which is known worldwide for producing classic models in every major style of fretted instrument, including acoustic and electric guitars, mandolins and banjos. Gibson’s HD.6X-Pro Guitar system represents the biggest advance in electric guitar design in more than 70 years. The Gibson family of brands includes Epiphone, Dobro, Valley Arts, Kramer, Steinberger, Tobias, Slingerland, Take Anywhere Technology,™ Maestro, Baldwin, Hamilton, Sunshin, J&C Fischer, Chickering and Wurlitzer. For more information on Gibson Foundation go to www.gibsonfoundation.org or www.gibson.com