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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