Seeking hepatitis C treatment as a young patient of color
“It put it in my face that people of color are mistreated when it comes to the medical industry.” - Jessica, hepatitis C patient, speaking on her experience.
Transcript
It put it in my face that people of color are mistreated when it comes to the medical industry.
[MUSIC PLAYING]
So my diagnosis is twofold. It actually started with my mother.
She had symptoms. When I got tested, I had no symptoms. Unfortunately, she was treated too late.
She was diagnosed the same time I was. And she died within six months. She was only 58.
So being a 23-year-old who has this diagnosis of a disease she's never heard of rocked my world.
It was not easy for me to get treatment at all. My doctor told me I was too young
and I wasn't sick enough to get treatment. I fought for years. I was reaching out to any and everyone
I could to see what was going on. And I just-- I kept getting denied. Why would you want to have your patient continue
without any type of awareness as to what could happen in the next couple of years? There were so many unanswered questions.
At one point, I just-- I gave up. When I finally got treatment six years after I was diagnosed,
it was out of the blue. I get a phone call out of nowhere like, hey, Jessica.
Do you wanna get treated. I'm like, who? What? Is this a prank call? I didn't believe that it was the doctor at all.
It's my mom and mine's story. And she's not here to share it. So any chance I get to keep her going on, to just remember her,
to make sure people know you don't have to be scared when you get this diagnosis. You don't have to be afraid.
There's treatment available. You don't have to die.
hepatitis c
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