Pamela Anderson has shared the profound impact of her hepatitis C diagnosis, revealing that doctors initially gave her "around 10 years to live." The actress, now 59, spoke about the diagnosis at the amfAR Gala in Venice, describing the prognosis as a "death sentence."
Anderson first publicly disclosed her hepatitis C diagnosis in 2002, stating she contracted the liver-damaging virus by sharing a tattoo needle with her ex-husband, Tommy Lee. Hepatitis C is a viral infection that can cause liver inflammation and serious damage. While chronic hepatitis C is now typically curable with oral medications taken over eight to 12 weeks, Anderson's diagnosis in the late 1990s came at a time when treatment options were less advanced.
"I’m sure that colored and corrupted my decisions," Anderson said of the diagnosis, per Variety. "It was not fear of death, but fear of what might happen to my young children." Anderson and Lee have two sons, Brandon, 30, and Dylan, 28.
She explained that she had an uncommon form of the condition, similar to Lee's. "Our type I took two pills a day for three months," she said, contrasting it with other types that might require only one pill daily for eight weeks. Anderson's treatment lasted 12 weeks, which she described as "a little more hard to cure but it still worked."
A cure for hepatitis C was discovered in 2011, and Anderson announced she was "hep C free" in 2015. However, she admitted the treatment came at a significant financial cost, "It took everything I had in my bank."
Despite being cured, Anderson stated she is still affected by the "shame and guilt" she experienced. "It stays with me; it haunts me," she said, comparing the feeling to the "shame and guilt" from childhood sexual abuse. "And just like the sexual abuse that I endured as a child, it felt like it was carved into my forehead: Damaged goods. And I presented myself as such."
Anderson shared that her artistic work has been a way to process these experiences. "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," she stated. She asserted her resilience, declaring, "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."
She recounted in 2015 that Lee had undergone treatment first and encouraged her to do the same. "They called me and said there's a cure, and you know, Tommy did it first so he got cured first," she told ET at the time.
Hepatitis C is a viral infection causing liver inflammation, with chronic cases often asymptomatic for decades. Symptoms can include easy bruising and bleeding, fatigue, poor appetite, jaundice, dark urine, and itchy skin. The virus spreads through contact with infected blood, with higher risk factors including healthcare work, blood transfusions before 1992, being a "baby boomer" born between 1945 and 1965, military veterans, incarceration, unsanitary tattooing or piercing environments, and injecting or inhaling illicit drugs.