Pamela Anderson has lived with hepatitis C. Now, she has opened up about one of the most frightening moments of her life — and the diagnosis she says completely turned her world upside down.
Pamela Anderson was diagnosed with hepatitis C in the late 1990s. The 59-year-old former Baywatch actress looked back on her battle with hepatitis C while accepting the Award of Courage at the American Foundation for AIDS Research (amFar) Gala in Venice.
At the time she was diagnosed, there was no cure. And what doctors told her left her terrified.
“It was a death sentence. That’s what my doctor told me — that I probably had around 10 years to live,” the Baywatch star recalled in a moving speech at the amfAR Gala in Venice, per Variety. “I’m sure that colored and corrupted my decisions. It was not fear of death, but fear of what might happen to my young children. It turned my life inside out.”
In 2011, luckily, a cure for the infection was discovered. Pamela said that by 2015, she was “hep C free.” Still, she added that “it took everything I had in my bank” to pay for treatment.
“10 blurry years later, there was a cure. I was lucky; I was offered it in its early stages, and it took everything I had in my bank to pay for it [because] it wasn’t covered by insurance yet, and I felt tremendous guilt that others weren’t granted the same access,” she said.
Pamela Anderson opens up about “death sentence” diagnosis
“I am grateful to say now that I am hep C free but my experience of shame and guilt was also an unconscious journey. It stays with me. It haunts me,” she added.
On Sunday, the actress was honored with amfAR’s Award of Courage. The nonprofit organization, which is focused on ending the HIV/AIDS epidemic, has also supported research and advocacy around hepatitis C — a common co-infection among people living with HIV.
Hepatitis C is a virus that spreads through contact with infected blood. According to the World Health Organization (WHO), it can cause both short-term and long-term liver inflammation.
While some people may experience only mild symptoms, hepatitis C can also lead to serious, lifelong health problems, including liver cirrhosis and liver cancer.
“I’m not a victim, I’m a victor”
Moreover, while Pamela said she hasn’t “fully recovered” from the news of her diagnosis, she explains she has “finally come to terms” with it.
And continuing to work has been a big part of it.
“My truth has come through my work, finding ways to express myself through the arts. It gave me the ammunition I needed, a fertile life to use and play in,” Anderson added. “I’m not a victim, I’m a victor. I am strong and capable, more now than I could ever dream of … I’m not the damsel in distress, no matter how easy that role is to play.”
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