December 19, 2008 - Cancer support organization Gilda's Club Worldwide offers a message of hope this holiday season to the millions touched by colon cancer with a one-of-a-kind mosaic mural. The 15X6 foot mural was created by more than 165 colon cancer survivors and their loved ones from around the nation as part of a new MOSAIC of Colon Cancer Survivorship program celebrating the strides that have improved colon cancer treatment. According to the American Cancer Society, death rates for colon cancer have been declining due to many factors including prevention, improved detection and better treatment options.

The mural spells "HOPE!" in celebration of the advances in prevention, screening, staging and treatment that are improving survival for people with colon cancer.

For several months, Gilda's Club affiliates from across the country have worked with colon cancer survivors and their loved ones to create inspirational murals expressing the thoughts and feelings of people nationwide touched by colon cancer. Murals were contributed by clubhouses in every region of the country - Northeast, Southeast, Midwest, Southwest and West - before heading to New York City. The MOSAIC mural of HOPE! was assembled by volunteers at Gilda's Club Worldwide.

"Colon cancer is a frightening diagnosis, but there is hope," said Sandy Towers, Gilda's Club Worldwide interim executive director. "Through the MOSAIC of Colon Cancer Survivorship program, survivors offered the best kind of hope that comes from those who have already gone through the experience."

At each of the local MOSAIC of Colon Cancer Survivorship events, colon cancer survivors shared what going through treatment has meant in their lives, and oncologists gave presentations on the many medical advances that are improving survival rates for those with Stage III colon cancer, including six-year overall survival data from the large multicenter clinical trial MOSAIC.

"Today we have a wider array of tools to fight colon cancer," said Dr. Howard Hochster, Professor of Medicine and Clinical Pharmacology, New York University Clinical Cancer Institute. "Great progress in diagnosis and treatment is improving the outlook for patients. For example, the recent FDA approval to include six-year survival results from the MOSAIC trial marks a particularly important advancement in Stage III colon cancer treatment. The MOSAIC trial showed that after a median follow-up of 6.8 years, Stage III colon cancer patients treated with an oxaliplatin-based regimen were significantly less likely to relapse or die compared to those treated with standard chemotherapy alone."

The MOSAIC of Colon Cancer Survivorship program is sponsored by Gilda's Club Worldwide and sanofi-aventis U.S. Photos will be posted on the Gilda's Club Web site at www.gildasclub.org.

About Gilda's Club
Gilda's Club is a cancer support community where men, women and children, who have any type or stage of cancer, and their families and friends come together, free of charge, for social and emotional support. At clubhouses nationwide, Gilda's Club provides support groups, lectures, workshops, and social events where people learn to live with cancer, whatever the outcome. Gilda's Club is named in honor of Saturday Night Live comedian Gilda Radner, who died of ovarian cancer in 1989. Gilda dreamed that all people affected by cancer, as well as their families and friends, would have access to the same kind of emotional and social support that she received during her illness.

About sanofi-aventis
Sanofi-aventis U.S. is an affiliate of sanofi-aventis, a leading global pharmaceutical company, discovers, develops and distributes therapeutic solutions to improve the lives of everyone. 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.