To all people with hepatitis C, their family and friends;
My name is Tricia and I am the National Co Coordinator of
the Hepatitis C Movement for Awareness. We would like to
furnish details of the March we are > planning November 11,
2001. Our theme is "Hepatitis C's March on DC."
We plan on starting the rally at 9:00 am that morning. We
will walk the mall from the Capital to the Lincoln Memorial.
We have several guest speakers including doctors, and elected
officials that will present testimony to the devastation of
the number one epidemic in the world, Hepatitis C (HCV).
There are several big names that will be speaking and
providing entertainment to the five million people we hope
will attend. That number is high but it does reflect the
current infection rate and is our target group to participate
in this Awareness March.
One of our main goals is to clear up the confusion about
this disease and let everyone know how fast HCV is
spreading. HCV has become know as "the druggie
disease" and this has hampered all of us from receiving
support and the education needed to stop the spread of the
virus. These attitudes have misled the public into thinking
they are safe as long as they don't do drugs.
The truth is over 40% of the people infected have no clue
how they contracted HCV.
Sporadic transmission, when the source of infection is
unknown, occurs in about 10 percent of acute hepatitis C cases
and in 30 percent of chronic Hepatitis C cases. These cases
are also referred to as community-acquired infections. These
infections may have come from exposure to the virus from cuts,
wounds, medical injections or procedures, Shared toothbrushes
razors and manicure sets to list only a few. These methods of
transmission are a real threat to everyone. Each year new ways
of transmitting this disease are discovered. If federal
funding for research had been given as promised many people
would not be infected now. Unless we get more funding many
more will be infected in the future.
Everyone needs to be tested and this campaign will
hopefully bring that awareness and concern to the nation to
get tested. I'm sure you that heard the predictions from the
Hepatitis Global Conference held in California
last week. Over 20% of the world population will be infected
by the year 2100. That's a lot of people. We can stop
that now if we all come together and work towards that goal.
We would like to see, as a result of these efforts,
increased funding for research, education and more government
assistance for everyone with this disease. We want social
security and the Veterans Affairs to acknowledge the many
extra manifestation of this disease, like Chronic Fatigue
syndrome and Fibromalagia, diabetes, Neuropathy and the many
other symptoms associated with HCV.
The only way we will reflect change is if we demand it. We
were all promised help and that help has not and will not come
unless we stand united. Getting to DC is going to be
hard on every one. But if we don't do this, nothing is going
to change and our future generations will pay the price for
the neglect of the government to stop the spread of this
disease. The future holds a very bleak picture for our
children. Our children will have a 1 in 5 chance of becoming
infected in there life time if we don't unite now. And there
is no cure in sight. There is no real funding to find a cure.
They gave us the combo that's all we get. Rat poison.
Veterans will also be a focus because at least 65% of all
people with this disease are veterans. The people we thank
each year for our freedom have
been left out in the cold by the government. Many are
suffering significantly, only to be denied benefits because
they cannot prove how they got this disease over twenty some
years ago. That is why we have chosen Veterans Day.
Please, please consider finding a way to come to DC. We are
making arrangements with all local chapters of the American
Liver Foundation to furnish transportation and we are
looking for contributions from all the foundations and
supporters for help with accommodations for everyone.
If we do not turn out, nothing is going to change. You know
that and I do to.
So please do what you can and start planning now.
We have set up a command post at http://www.delphi.com/March_On_DC.
Here you can participate in one of our committees or view our
progress and offer suggestion. This will give you an Idea of
our organizational structure and our plan of attack to
accomplish our goals.
This march will represent all people with this disease and
we need help from everyone. Please join us and help bring
awareness to DC, November 11, 2001.
I hope all of you find it in your heart and heads to
realize the only way we will get help is to make this happen
and the only way we will do that is to come together and
demand it. We need everyone. Please don't leave it up to the
other guy to do this because we will all suffer if you do.
Thank you for your time and I hope to see you in DC.
Sincerely yours,
Patricia Lupole (Tricia)
National Co Coordinator for The Hepatitis C Movement for
Awareness
You can contact me personally at Rockiesnext@aol.com
You can view transmission method for this virus at http://www.hcvets.com
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