Actor-Author Christopher Kennedy Lawford to Join Debbie Delgado-Vega and Lola for 3rd Annual Hepatitis C Walk
NEW YORK, May 8 /PRNewswire/ — With the incidence of the Hepatitis C Virus (HCV) dramatically on the rise in New York, the Latino Organization for Liver Awareness (LOLA) will focus attention on the importance of people in every community getting tested and treated when it stages its 3rd annual Hepatitis C Walk, on Tuesday, May 15th from Battery Park to City Hall Park. Leading this year’s walk will be LOLA president and founder Debbie Delgado- Vega, a two-time liver transplant recipient, and actor-author Christopher Kennedy Lawford, a nephew of the late President John F. Kennedy, who has been diagnosed and successfully treated for the virus.
Registration for the walk will take place from 9 a.m. to 11:00 a.m. in Battery Park, amid a festival of artistic and musical performances. Promptly at noon, leading HCV public health advocates, doctors, medical professionals, supporters and private citizens touched in some manner by the HCV virus will make the 1 mile walk to City Hall Park. They will be greeted by City Council Majority Leader Joel Rivera.
A blood-borne viral infection that is four times more prevalent than HIV, Hepatitis C has infected 342,000 New Yorkers, 5 million individuals in the United States and as many as 300 million people worldwide. Commonly referred to as a “silent disease”, less than five percent of those with HCV are aware that they have been infected by the virus. Over the past 10 years, Hepatitis C has been the leading cause of liver transplants in the U.S. and, if left untreated and undetected, it can lead to cirrhosis, liver cancer or death.
While the Hepatitis C virus is extremely prevalent in Hispanic communities, medical experts estimate that one in five members of the general population have engaged in an activity that puts them at risk for the disease. These activities include: receiving a blood transfusion prior to 1992; being HIV/AIDS positive, having been infected with other viral Hepatitis (A-B or both), having tattoo or body piercing; sharing a toothbrush or a shaving razor. Getting a manicure, using cocaine intranasally, or having been employed as a healthcare worker can also pose a danger.
“After getting over the initial shock of learning I had the Hepatitis C virus, I decided to fight back,” Lawford explained. “Now, four years after successfully completing treatment, I want to encourage others to request a simple blood test that can determine whether or not they have been infected with the virus. While the test is available through most health care providers, it is not generally part of the routine tests performed during an annual physical.”
“The Hepatitis C virus does not discriminate – anyone is at risk,” said LOLA’s Delgado-Vega. “On a national level, Latinos are especially vulnerable; and as a Latina and CEO of a Latino based liver disease organization, this becomes one of my primary and personal concerns. The goal of this march is to get New York City residents from all walks of life to make the positive choice of getting a free HCV blood test, seeking appropriate medical assistance and, if necessary, obtaining support and treatment.”
Anyone living in the New York City area can obtain a FREE HCV blood test referral by calling LOLA at 718-892-8697. To register on line for the May 15th Hepatitis C walk, log on to http://www.lola-national.org/. To volunteer or acquire additional information about LOLA’s Get Tested, Get Treated Hepatitis C campaign, please call toll free 1-888-367-LOLA.
About LOLA
The Latino Organization for Liver Awareness (L.O.L.A.) is the first bilingual/bicultural organization in the United States dedicated to raising awareness and providing prevention, education and treatment referral services to the Latino and American community, as well as to underserved populations that suffer from liver disease and/or are in need of a liver transplant.
Delgado-Vega founded LOLA 14 years ago while waiting for a liver transplant and learning that Spanish language information on nearly 100 different liver diseases, particularly the disease she was diagnosed with (Autoimmune), and organ transplantation, was relatively nonexistent in the Latino community worldwide.
LOLA
CONTACT: Tenley Hawkins, Hispanic Experti, +1-914-948-8144,thawkins@experti.com, for LOLA; or Gladys Moreira of LOLA, +1-718-892-8697,lolagmg@aol.com
Web site: http://www.lola-national.org/