WebMD Health Heroes

Meet our 2008 winners

Each year, we celebrate four visionary Americans who faced down daunting health challenges – and then gave back to others in truly inspiring ways.

2008 Health Heroes

Laura Ziskin

Her own struggle with breast cancer left Hollywood producer Laura Ziskin furious that a cure has not been found. To help fund research, she founded a highly successful non-profit.

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Winter Vinecki

The illness of a parent can traumatize any young child. But when Winter Vinecki, 9, learned her father had prostate cancer, she swung into action to raise money to find a cure.

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Katherine Stone

After giving birth to her first child, Katherine Stone developed postpartum obsessive-compulsive disorder. Rather than hide her illness, she launched a blog to reach and help other women.

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As director of the National Alliance for Hispanic Health, Jane Delgado is acutely aware of the link between pollution and health, especially for children-- and she's empowering young people to make a difference.

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WebMD's Gift

This year, WebMD awarded $2,500 to each Health Hero to be used for their foundation or project. Click on the tabs to find out how they plan to spend their prize.

Laura
Ziskin
Jane L. Delgado, PhD
Katherine Stone
Winter Vinecki

Laura Ziskin

"I'll donate this $2,500 award to Stand Up to Cancer. As a cancer survivor and mother, I believe we need to look at how we can sustain and continue to raise very large sums of money and how we continue to provoke the community and the government to focus on this problem in a really dedicated way."

— Laura Ziskin

Jane Delgado, PhD

Dr. Delgado is donating the $2,500 from WebMD to the Alliance's supporting arm, the Health Foundation for the Americas. The donation will support the Foundation's Mas Bueno (More Good) Fund, which fosters innovations in health throughout the Americas (such as the Alliance's cutting-edge community environmental health program) and responds to community emergency needs. Most recently the Fund is providing short-term credit lines to community health agencies caught in the credit-crunch so that vital services continue uninterrupted at this time of urgent need.

Katherine Stone

"I'm so grateful to WebMD for recognizing how important perinatal mood and anxiety disorders are. The Health Hero Award money will be used to make it easier for Postpartum Progress readers to find the information they need, to help support the great work of Postpartum Support International and to conduct an attitudinal survey among women and families on the best way to communicate with ill women, so that they can reach out for help without fear."

— Katherine Stone

Winter Vinecki

"I'm not the real hero. The real heroes are people like my dad who are fighting prostate cancer. I hope this money goes to help find a cure for prostate cancer. Team Winter will continue raising money for prostate cancer research with the help of Athletes for a Cure. One of my future goals is to get as many blue ribbons out there as pink ribbons. Thank you for helping my dad."

— Winter Vinecki
Winter is shown here with her mom, Dawn Estelle, as well as Michael Milkin of the Prostate Cancer Foundation (left) and Scott Zagarino of Athletes for a Cure (middle).

Nominate Your 2010 Health Hero Here

Know a Health Hero? Tell Us!

For next year's winners, the editors of WebMD are seeking heart-lifting, true tales that both move and inspire us.

Who is a candidate? Patients, doctors, nurses, and family members who met a medical diagnosis or condition with courage, underwent (or gave) treatment, and then helped give back to others will be given top consideration.

Winners will be celebrated in the pages of WebMD the Magazine and on WebMD.com.

You can nominate a Health Hero for next year starting January 15, 2010. But be sure not to miss our 2009 Health Heroes winners! We'll post their stories here in early November.