Facing stigma as a Black hepatitis C patient
“I feel like a lot of the time, when people don’t understand how things operate scientifically, it’s a playground for stigma.” -Pat, hepatitis C patient
Transcript
In the Black community, I feel like a lot of the time, like, when people don't understand how things operate scientifically,
it's a playground for stigma. [MUSIC PLAYING]
When I was diagnosed with hep C, I was seeking healing in many realms of my life.
I was trying to heal from substance use. I was trying to heal from hep C. I was trying to heal from mental health conditions, so I was signing up for therapy.
I'm a veteran of the United States Air Force, so I was trying to get veteran services, trying to build my career, trying
to get some kind of housing stability, all of these different realms I was trying to build. In order for me to be willing to even start treatment,
my first primary physician said, you're worthy of self-love. And that started me on this journey
of trying to figure out exactly what that meant. And so, choosing to swallow a pill was one of those things.
And that's where my advocacy for my healing comes from. It's this desire to grow like a flower,
from all of the trauma and stigma that the world can place on me, and to just present--
it's not that. And to be the absolute validity and truth, that those stigmas don't exist.
hepatitis c
Browse videos by topic categories
A
B
C
D
E
F
G
H
I
J
K
L
M
N
O
P
Q
R
S
T
U
V
W
X
Y
Z
ALL