Both Vertex and Merck -- makers of cutting-edge Hep C drugs -- are sponsors of this 501(c)(3). The "Tune In" campaign uses recording artists -- and their music -- to raise Hep C awareness, globally. Here is a bit of Jon's story (modified small image of Jon, at right, courtesy the foundation) -- but go listen about it all, and read it all, at the foundation site:
. . . .My father, José, passed away in 2011 from cirrhosis of the liver. It was the result of a complication from having chronic hepatitis C infection that went untreated. Although he had been diagnosed for years, he never gave his chronic hepatitis C the attention it required and did not follow up with his doctor promptly. He didn't tell me about his diagnosis for more than a decade. My father did not understand the potential consequences of chronic hepatitis C and it cost him, and our family, dearly.
I wish I could have done more to help my father, and I wish I had known more about the disease. That's why I'm sharing my family's personal story with others.
I believe my father was living with chronic hepatitis C as far back as the 1970s when he left Cuba. He periodically had health issues, but didn't get diagnosed until the 1980s. He never really dealt with the fact that he was living with this potentially serious disease and he waited too long to do something about it. . . .
I applaud all of pharma's efforts here -- this disease is now effectively curable -- in most cases. We need to begin to do just that -- cure all those we can. And like José's story, the first step is discovery -- as it so often goes undetected, for decades. Go get tested.
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