I have recently been informed that the new movie,
"Bewitched", with
Nicole Kidman, has a scene in it where a lecherous
older character was
coming on to young things at a party. A jealous
older witch he had taken up
with was making the younger ones say things to
turn off the older character.
One of the cute little blonds apparently blurts
out "I have Hepatitis C".
Of course he was taken aback, his mouth dropped
open and he turned away.
I don’t know how many people will view this movie,
but the impression
they will come away with is that Hep C is primarily
sexually transmitted.
The fact of the matter is, you have less than
a 2% chance of contracting Hep C
through sexual contact. Even then, it has to
be under certain circumstances.
My husband, is one of the millions of people living
with this disease
everyday. So many of us are trying diligently
to "educate" the public
on awareness of Hep C and to hear that the movie
industry finds it
acceptable to try to get a laugh out of this
dreaded disease is totally
unacceptable to the Hep C community and has outraged
those that live
with this disease or have a family member infected
by it. Many people
who are uneducated about this disease will walk
away from this movie
with the very stigma that we have worked so hard
to educate the public
about. Apparently, no research went into knowing
what Hep C is, how it
is contracted and how so many people would feel
going to a movie that
is supposed to be funny, only to walk away feeling
belittled, disgusted
and outraged!
Why would ANYONE think it’s right to use ANY disease
as a way to
get a laugh? To make light of a killer disease
is beyond crude and rude.
Why didn’t they have the girl say "I have HIV?"
which is actually a sexually
transmitted disease and Hep C is not? My thinking
is that the scene would
not be funny, just like having Hep C isn’t.
Generally, you contract Hep C by coming in contact
with blood
contaminated with the virus. You CANNOT contract
Hep C by sharing
eating utensils or drinking glasses; casual contact;
breast feeding;
sneezing; food or water; coughing; hugging or
kissing.
In the US alone, there are approximately 4.5 million
people infected
with Hep C that has been diagnosed. The problem
is, there are probably
millions more infected with the disease because
up to 80% of those
infected have no symptoms at all, therefore,
they are not tested and
diagnosed. In fact, most people don’t know they
have the disease until
decades later when liver damage shows up during
routine medical tests.
I would encourage everyone to answer these questions:
1. Have you ever used IV drugs or intranasal (such as cocaine) drugs even once?
2. Did you receive an organ transplant before 1992?
3. Are you a health care worker who was exposed to blood?
4. Have you ever received a clotting factor concentrate
before 1987, or
had hemophilia and received
blood before 1992?
5. Have you received any type of blood product or transfusion before 1992?
6. Do you have tattoos or body piercing that you
received under questionable
sterile conditions?
7. Do you have unexplained fatigue?
8. Do you have nausea or a poor appetite for no apparent reason?
9. Do you have muscle and/or joint pains not cause by another medical problem?
10. Do you have tenderness in the area of your liver?
11. Do you have recurring yellowing of the skin and/or eyes (jaundice)?
12. Do you have recurring elevated liver enzymes (AST and ALT)?
If you answered yes to ANY of these questions,
I would encourage you to
get tested for Hep C TODAY! It is a simple blood
test and its virtually pain free.
The sad truth to this disease is that it’s a silent
killer. Most people
infected show no outward signs that they are
sick. Some people may
contribute symptoms to other problems, or working
to hard, not eating
right, etc. Most people are unaware that this
disease attacks the
liver. Over time, Hep C can lead to liver cancer,
liver failure or
cirrhosis (irreversible and potentially fatal
scarring of the liver).
Hep C is the leading reason for liver transplants
in the United States.
My husband went 30 years before being diagnosed.
It was only through a
routine physical that it was discovered. Now,
he is awaiting a liver transplant.
I have watched him go from a highly energetic,
vibrant man, that often worked too hard, to one that feels poorly,, has
to be on
many daily medications to manage the symptoms
and affects, has to be on
a special diet to help control excess fluid retention,
and is disabled
from this disease.
Many people who are diagnosed choose not to tell
their family and
friends, due to the "stereotyping" that this
disease has received. Some
who do tell, have gotten backs turned on them
because they are simply
uneducated about this disease. I guess we are
some of the lucky ones,
not 1 of our family members or friends have turned
away from us. This
is in large part due to me educating them.
Did the movie industry really think this was funny?
Public awareness is
something that so many of us are fighting for.
However, making an
"uneducated stereotype" and alarming and degrading
millions of people
was not what we were looking for. We understand
"freedom of speech" and
the "all American dollar", but this goes beyond
all understanding! Can
the movie industry explain to all of us living
with this disease, or
those that know someone that is infected, how
is this statement funny?
I personally not only feel this was in bad taste,
but that there should
have been a warning label on the prejudice and
uneducated remark that
was made concerning those who live with Hepatitis
C everyday.
I can only hope that many more people will be
tested and educate
themselves before making such a remark and stereo
type!
Joanne K
Savannah, GA