Pamela Anderson announced on her Instagram on that she’s cured of Hepatitis C. Anderson, 48, told the press in 2002 that she developed the chronic disease after sharing a tattoo needle with her ex-husband, Tommy Lee. Apparently there’s a new antiviral regimen that’s much more effective than previous treatments and can cure about 80 to 95% of cases. Anderson has been on it, and she said back in August that she “could be cured within a month.” It may have taken a little longer than she expected, but she’s cured now and she made the announcement with a strategically covered nude photo and this news. (I’m not posting the picture as that affects our ads. You can see it on People Magazine.)
I am CURED!!! – I just found out #nomorehepc #thankyou #blessing #family #prayer #live I pray anyone living with Hep C can qualify or afford treatment. It will be more available soon. I know treatment is hard to get still…#dontlosehope #itworkedforme #thereisacure #love #happy #americanliverfoundation #celebration #Idontknowwhattodo #iwanttohelp #cannes #iloveboats #onthesea #free
Damn that’s a lot of hashtags, but I’m happy for her that’s incredible. Anderson also told People this summer that she’s been feeling so much better since she started this treatment.
“I’m very fortunate that I’ve had Hep C for about 16 years,” says Anderson. “Sixteen years ago that was [presented to me] as a death sentence. I think it really worked on my self esteem. Even though I may have looked confident on the outside, I think it really was a dark cloud that lingered over me.”
“I don’t have any liver damage and I don’t have any side effects,” she says. “I’m living my life the way I want to but it could have eventually have caused me some problems and so it was a real blessing that I was able to get the medicine. I’m half way there.”
“I’m really excited,” says the author of the new coffee table book Raw. “I feel good. I feel so blessed.”
“I’ve always been an advocate of trying to remove stigma from hepatitis C from aids,” she says. “I think subconsciously [the disease] just works on you.”
Today, she feels better than ever. “I actually just look in the mirror everyday and I feel like I’m looking younger and younger and I feel like I’m getting those 20 years back.”
I didn’t even know it was possible to cure Hep-C. One of my friend’s moms has Hep-C after contracting it during a blood transfusion in the 1970s. (If I’m interpreting Wikipedia correctly, Hep-C wasn’t officially proven until 1989.) The new treatments are covered by some insurance companies, but not all and it can be insanely expensive to pay out of pocket. The medication can cost over $100,000 for a 12 week course of treatment. My friend’s mom was told to wait to get treatment until she was on Medicare when it would possibly be covered.
This makes me question how Anderson afforded this, because she’s had well publicized money problems. Kaiser reminded me that Sam Simon left her a ring worth $800k when he passed. (Page Six reported this but Anderson denied it.) It’s also possible that Anderson has insurance which covers the treatment. I’ve heard SAG insurance is very good if she has that. Anyway congratulations to Anderson! Hopefully this story will help increase the pressure on American insurance companies to cover this treatment.
Pamela Anderson is shown in the header on 10-25. Other photos are of her promoting her new book, Raw, on 9-22 and at a PETA event on 9-30. Credit: Fame Flynet and Getty Images
If she got it from sharing a needle with Tommy Lee, why does he apparently not have Hep-C?
I’m sure Its because most people don’t want to admit they have an disease (curable or not) that could be spread, not to mention the stigma people face. If Tommy Lee has it I suppose I understand him not wanting to admit it, although I hope he has told individuals when it is clearly necessary.
True… but considering his lifestyle and job as a touring musician, and the sheer amount of time he would have had Hep C, it would have been pretty darned hard to hide and would have taken an immense physical toll on him. And FWIW he’s flat out denied it for years.
He could very well have Hep C and you wouldn’t be able to tell. LOTS of people have the virus and it doesn’t cause an acute illness. I work at a mental health facility and a huge chunk of our patients have Hep C, but they have no outward signs of being sick; their liver enzymes are elevated, however. I can think of ONE patient who was on a med regimen for Hep C.
I bet if Tommy Lee has/had the virus, he’s tried the med regimen as well.
Pam; there you are. I was just talking about you and your boobs several days ago.
So glad you’re cured while I’m glad I took the vaccine against Hep-B. I wish there was a vaccine for Hep-C. But then again now there might be since you’re saying that you have been cured from it.
theres not a vaccine. gilead just came out with the cure like 2 years ago.
I thought tommy lee said she didn’t get it from him?
Good news, for a change. Yes, I hope Pam gets on the bandwagon for this anti-viral treatment, to get more insurance companies paying for it.
That nude pic has gotta be really old, right?
I’m happy for her. My grandmother got it as a result of a blood transfusion in the early ’80s, and was told that she wasn’t a candidate for a liver transplant and would probably only live a few more years. We were so lucky that it was just over a decade instead, but when I started seeing stories about Pamela getting treatment, it was a bit of a sucker punch and made me wish that whoever discovered the treatment had worked a wee bit faster. I hope that Pamela stays healthy and lives a long, fulfilling life.
Great News! One of my close friends was able to get the treatment while it was in trials before it went on the market and she’s doing amazing and is also cured.
i love this kind of happy news! congrats to your friend!
I have to wonder – did Pam make sure that her treatments were not the result of animal testing? I only ask because I seem to recall Pam railing against the ALS challenge by saying that nobody should give to the ALS Association because they funded animal testing. So, you know, screw the people with a crippling disease. So I presume that Pam holds herself to the same high, high standard.
You know, you make a very good point.
I’m happy for her and all the others this can help, but there’s no way this was done without animal testing.
It had to be. If the treatment is approved by the FDA, animal testing was probably mandated at some point.
I’m not trying to pee on Pam’s happiness. Her being cured is an excellent thing. But I wish she was self-aware and would not argue broadly against animal testing and then use it for herself. You can an animal advocate and still get that right now, some animal testing is probably necessary and that it’s a bad system and work to improve it. I would love to see her address it at some point.
I had the same thought.
Hep C treatment is really expensive, we were quoted $1,000 per dose with an unknown number of doses.
Full treatment costs 87,000 USD per patient, making it almost conpletely unavailable to those who need it world wide. Way way way above cost – generics could easily produce and sell this for less than 1000 USD for a full course of treatment. I’m glad she’s cured – this drug is a wonderful gift, but it is still unreachable for most
I’m sure research and development cost a lot of money. And because it’s so new it’s going to cost a lot to produce. Plus, they’ve only got so many years until the patent expires. Eventually it will be an affordable option. Sadly, maybe not soon enough for some people.
Not as much as you think. Plus, it isn’t a truly “novel technology”, so it wasn’t made from scratch. On top of that, much R&D in big pharma is government subsidised, so ethically they have to give back. But of course they don’t …
Since she’s a Canadian, it could be she had the treatment in Canada. Probably costs way less there.
“I actually just look in the mirror everyday and I feel like I’m looking younger and younger and I feel like I’m getting those 20 years back.”
Sure Pam. You’re looking younger because you’ve had a few cosmetic procedures done to your face. It’s obvious from looking at pictures from 6 months back compared to now.
Glad she’s feeling better but I don’t believe it’s the medication that made her look younger. Just in time for her book tour. And those miracle meds are tested on animals…just saying.
I hate to rain on her parade…one is never fully “cured” from a virus. That’s just how viral infections work; They viral RNA is still in her system. I wonder what she means exactly by “cured?”
A colleague’s husband contracted Hep-C from a transfusion many years ago, and had a liver transplant as a result. His new liver started failing again two years ago, but he wasn’t a good prospect for yet another transplant (even at Ochsner, which specializes in such) – his doctor got him into this treatment, and he’s now pretty much Hep-C free.
That is wonderful!
That’s amazing!
My girlfriend’s husband had Hep C. He is a very fit and healthy man, so handsome. I never knew he had it until he started treatment 15 years ago. They used Interferon. It was brutal. I stopped by to see him and, honest to God, he was so wasted away from the treatment that I thought they were lying and he had AIDS and was dying. But after the treatment was over, he was great and got his weight and looks back and all was fine.
I watched a person go through that treatment and the side effects were so bad they went nuts and stopped. I am so glad that treatment worked for your friend. A lot of people used it and it did not work. Many it did work for like you said suffered so much.
It’s outrageous the medicine costs so much.
She’s probably the most famous person alive that’s openly talked about having Hep-C. Maybe the company gave it to her in exchange for publicity?
That’s what I thought. Or maybe she was part of a trial? Didn’t her blurb say it hasn’t been released yet? Amazing insurance or not, I don’t think you usually get something like that that has yet to be released.
It has been released. It’s by Gilead and it’s obscenely over priced
I wondered that myself. I’m too cynical now, with celebrities using everything including their newborns to shill stuff on social media, that I did suspect if they cut her a break on the medication. Especially since she’s had a lot of financial problems.
My Dad died from Hep C in 2001 at the age of 48, I wish there were treatment options when he was sick. Congrats Pamela!
My Dad died from Hep C in 2001at the age of 48, I wish there were treatment options when he was sick. Congrats Pamela!
Canadian here – I will never understand why health care isn’t covered for Americans. Basic life necessities should be free. How do you guys afford to have babies?
I was thinking something similar to that. I am so glad to live in a country where if you’re sick, the hospital will do its best to heal you, no questions asked.
I heard about this treatment recently, and was so excited! It’s expensive now, because it’s new, and the pharmaceutical company needs to recoup the costs associated with research and development. I’m happy to say that the health care organization that I work for covers this treatment for our patients. 🙂 🙂 🙂 It ends up being approximately $100,000 for a full course of treatment, which pales in comparison to the lifetime health care costs associated with managing chronic Hep C. I’m happy to work for an organization that sees the long term value over the initial cost.
I’ll bet my bottom dollar animal testing was involved in the development of the Hep C cure. I feel sorry for the chimps, but what are you going to do if you’re in her position, right? Not too sure what the middle ground on testing is and how you can filter the unnecessary animal testing from the necessary, but I’m sure there are vegan medical experts out there who can shed light on it.
My mom died of Hep C. I sure do wish this treatment had come out a year earlier.
If anyone in this world believed in spell… it wasn’t me. I was “Doubting Thomas” when it had to do with spells, magic, voodoo, and any of those sort, until I had an experiential encounter with a real herbalist. I was on a business trip to Africa which was sponsored by the company I work for. Business class ticket, five star hotel, a personal driver…all kind of luxury of that kind. I was to stay there for a week. On the second day of this trip, I taught I needed to get a girl to warm up my bed for the rest of the days I would be staying there. So, one faithful evening, I asked my driver to take me on a cruise. Into the streets we went and in less than 3mins, I found exactly what I needed. Before I could blink, she already was on my bed because of my luxurious lifestyle. This went on until I left Africa. I went back to the States and lived my normal life. After about 8 months, I fell very sick. Went to the hospital and… I am POSITIVE (HIV). Immediately, my mind flashed back to the girl in Africa because we always were having unprotected sex and I equally had seen ARV in her purse but she said she had just gone to collect it for her father. Foolishly, I never suspected anything. I immediately called this African girl and told her how she just had ended my life. She laughed and told me not to worry about it. I got very angry but she told me she had been cleansed off HIV. I couldn’t believe what she was saying until she sent me a copy of her recently done test result. I begged her for the cure, and without hesitation, she told me about the herbalist that made her whole. I told her that I was going to do anything to get his contact, and immediately, she sent his email address (payospiritsshalospells”AT”yahoo”DOT”com) and I contacted him. In 3 days, I went back to the hospital to get a test done, just as the herbalist had said. Behold… The result… NEGATIVE. All you out there experiencing medical problems beyond scientific solutions, do run to Dr. Payo Shalo for rapid solutions… I no longer am “Doubting Thomas”…lol.
I really hope she uses this second chance so to speak as a way to teach yoynd women about the serious dangers of unprotected sex and drug abuse.
Treatment for Hep C depends on the genome. I did interferon treatments in 2007. Shots in the stomach every Friday for 6 months. It cost $500/month after my health insurance. I am cured. Just had a test for in September. No sign of the virus. I am cured. And it feels great. I am happy for her.