Hep B Stories
A compilation of patient and advocate stories, courtesy of the Asian Liver Center and Stanford Team HBV.
View inspiring patient stories in full here: http://med.stanford.edu/liver/media/patient-stories.html.
View inspiring patient stories in full here: http://med.stanford.edu/liver/media/patient-stories.html.
PART 1: The Carrier
“I went to visit my family doctor, and after getting my blood tested found out that I had hepatitis B.”
“There were no symptoms.”
“Before I was diagnosed, I considered my health to be ‘perfect.’ I don’t smoke. I don’t drink. I have a pretty healthy lifestyle. I kind of started to freak out a little bit, because I read stories about 20 year olds who become diagnosed with hepatitis B and die before they hit 25 because of liver cancer.”
“After I got off work, the same day I got diagnosed, I called my mom. After I told her, and told her the most likely mode of transmission was from mother to child, she started to apologize, and said, “Sorry, it’s my fault, isn’t it.” I think she just felt really guilty for it. That was the hardest part.”
“1 in 10 Asians have chronic hep B. Have you been tested?”
“If you have hepatitis B, the chance of having liver cancer is much higher than you might imagine. Even if you live a healthy lifestyle, liver cancer might still happen to you, like it happened to me.”
“After dinner, I had severe stomach cramps that lasted 10-15 minutes. The next week, the same thing happened, but it lasted the whole night. I told my doctor I had hepatitis, and the ultrasound revealed that a small portion of the liver was abnormal.”
“As soon as I was diagnosed with liver cancer, I told everyone in my family. Through liver cancer, it is very crucial that your family and your friends give you support and care. I think that really helped me a lot.”
“It’s important to stay strong, no matter what, and stay really optimistic.”
“Two and a half years ago, I thought my life was going to end. 1998, I thought I was not going to make it, at all. I wasn’t going to see my kids anymore, I thought I wouldn’t see my daughter graduate from high school or my son get married.”
“I was lucky. They found the cancer at a very, very early stage. When I was being prepared for the surgery, I felt very confident. I felt going into the operating room that everything was going to be ok.”
“Your health is not something you can take lightly, and cancer is something that can happen to anybody. Seek help as soon as you can. It’s better to seek help and find out it's nothing than to procrastinate and find out you should have gotten a check a long time ago.”
“When I was first diagnosed with hepatitis B, I was pretty scared, and I think it was mostly due to lack of education. After I learned about it, it wasn’t such a big scary thing.”
“I’ve been very afraid to tell people I have hepatitis B. A lot of people don’t know about hepatitis B and may think that I can give it to them by drinking water with them, sharing food with them, and so forth. But it’s not something that can be transmitted with casual contact. People can get tested and vaccinated. I run and bike and hike. You can lead a normal, healthy life with hepatitis B.”
“Hepatitis B is not a secret anymore in the Asian community. It’s not a secret that you hide in shame; you bring it out and you talk about it. It’s part of me. It’s not something that was intentionally or on purpose done to me or anything like that; it’s just part of who I am.”
“I’m really glad that this is happening, that there's a campaign to raise awareness of this disease. Too often we think our health is a private matter, and to some extent it is. On the other hand, I think we need to get beyond the feeling that it’s something we have to deal with ourselves. Because we live in a society of other people. And other people are affected by what we are, and who we are, and what we are affected by.”
Hepatitis B is a currently incurable virus that disproportionately affects Asians. People with the virus have a higher risk of developing liver cancer; in fact, hepatitis B is responsible for 60-80 percent of liver cancer cases worldwide. If you’re not sure if you or a loved one has hepatitis B, get tested and vaccinated against the virus, which spreads through blood, from mother to child, and through exchange of sexual fluids. If you do have the hepatitis B virus, take care of yourself and get screened regularly for liver disease. Get the AFP blood test every 6 months to test for liver cancer. Get the ALT blood test every 6 months to test for liver damage. Get a liver ultrasound every year to detect liver cancer early.
To support the Jade Ribbon Campaign, which advocates for Hep B awareness, donate here: (https://www.gofundme.com/joinjade) or join your local Team HBV chapter. #JoinJade!
“I went to visit my family doctor, and after getting my blood tested found out that I had hepatitis B.”
“There were no symptoms.”
“Before I was diagnosed, I considered my health to be ‘perfect.’ I don’t smoke. I don’t drink. I have a pretty healthy lifestyle. I kind of started to freak out a little bit, because I read stories about 20 year olds who become diagnosed with hepatitis B and die before they hit 25 because of liver cancer.”
“After I got off work, the same day I got diagnosed, I called my mom. After I told her, and told her the most likely mode of transmission was from mother to child, she started to apologize, and said, “Sorry, it’s my fault, isn’t it.” I think she just felt really guilty for it. That was the hardest part.”
“1 in 10 Asians have chronic hep B. Have you been tested?”
“If you have hepatitis B, the chance of having liver cancer is much higher than you might imagine. Even if you live a healthy lifestyle, liver cancer might still happen to you, like it happened to me.”
“After dinner, I had severe stomach cramps that lasted 10-15 minutes. The next week, the same thing happened, but it lasted the whole night. I told my doctor I had hepatitis, and the ultrasound revealed that a small portion of the liver was abnormal.”
“As soon as I was diagnosed with liver cancer, I told everyone in my family. Through liver cancer, it is very crucial that your family and your friends give you support and care. I think that really helped me a lot.”
“It’s important to stay strong, no matter what, and stay really optimistic.”
“Two and a half years ago, I thought my life was going to end. 1998, I thought I was not going to make it, at all. I wasn’t going to see my kids anymore, I thought I wouldn’t see my daughter graduate from high school or my son get married.”
“I was lucky. They found the cancer at a very, very early stage. When I was being prepared for the surgery, I felt very confident. I felt going into the operating room that everything was going to be ok.”
“Your health is not something you can take lightly, and cancer is something that can happen to anybody. Seek help as soon as you can. It’s better to seek help and find out it's nothing than to procrastinate and find out you should have gotten a check a long time ago.”
“When I was first diagnosed with hepatitis B, I was pretty scared, and I think it was mostly due to lack of education. After I learned about it, it wasn’t such a big scary thing.”
“I’ve been very afraid to tell people I have hepatitis B. A lot of people don’t know about hepatitis B and may think that I can give it to them by drinking water with them, sharing food with them, and so forth. But it’s not something that can be transmitted with casual contact. People can get tested and vaccinated. I run and bike and hike. You can lead a normal, healthy life with hepatitis B.”
“Hepatitis B is not a secret anymore in the Asian community. It’s not a secret that you hide in shame; you bring it out and you talk about it. It’s part of me. It’s not something that was intentionally or on purpose done to me or anything like that; it’s just part of who I am.”
“I’m really glad that this is happening, that there's a campaign to raise awareness of this disease. Too often we think our health is a private matter, and to some extent it is. On the other hand, I think we need to get beyond the feeling that it’s something we have to deal with ourselves. Because we live in a society of other people. And other people are affected by what we are, and who we are, and what we are affected by.”
Hepatitis B is a currently incurable virus that disproportionately affects Asians. People with the virus have a higher risk of developing liver cancer; in fact, hepatitis B is responsible for 60-80 percent of liver cancer cases worldwide. If you’re not sure if you or a loved one has hepatitis B, get tested and vaccinated against the virus, which spreads through blood, from mother to child, and through exchange of sexual fluids. If you do have the hepatitis B virus, take care of yourself and get screened regularly for liver disease. Get the AFP blood test every 6 months to test for liver cancer. Get the ALT blood test every 6 months to test for liver damage. Get a liver ultrasound every year to detect liver cancer early.
To support the Jade Ribbon Campaign, which advocates for Hep B awareness, donate here: (https://www.gofundme.com/joinjade) or join your local Team HBV chapter. #JoinJade!
PART 2: The Advocate
I joined Team HBV…
... after I became an intern at the Asian Liver Center.
...because I wanted to engage with the community as well as promote awareness for HBV, which I personally know affects many families dearly.
...because I wanted to spread awareness on the silent epidemic that continues to infect billions of people worldwide.
... to break the silence about health in Asian communities and make disease like Hep B easier to live with.
The JoinJade campaign ties everything together, giving our community a voice through raising awareness. What used to be behind-the-scenes for API in America can gradually be brought to the surface. Team HBV is not only a venue for action, but a family with one common goal. Through JoinJade, I can unite with people who care just as passionately about hepatitis B and liver cancer as I do, and I can make a real impact on my community by encouraging others to start conversations about HBV prevention and treatment.
I joined Team HBV…
... after I became an intern at the Asian Liver Center.
...because I wanted to engage with the community as well as promote awareness for HBV, which I personally know affects many families dearly.
...because I wanted to spread awareness on the silent epidemic that continues to infect billions of people worldwide.
... to break the silence about health in Asian communities and make disease like Hep B easier to live with.
The JoinJade campaign ties everything together, giving our community a voice through raising awareness. What used to be behind-the-scenes for API in America can gradually be brought to the surface. Team HBV is not only a venue for action, but a family with one common goal. Through JoinJade, I can unite with people who care just as passionately about hepatitis B and liver cancer as I do, and I can make a real impact on my community by encouraging others to start conversations about HBV prevention and treatment.