Baywatch icon Pamela Anderson has reflected on her hepatitis C diagnosis. As reported by Page Six, she was given just 10 years to live following the shock diagnosis.
She was talking to the crowd at the amfAR Gala Venezia, which is a gala event to "raise funds for medical research". There, she said that her diagnosis in the 90s "was a death sentence."
"That's what my doctor told me - that I probably had around 10 years to live," the Baywatch icon reflected.
She had originally been diagnosed with hepatitis C during her marriage to Tommy Lee. During their marriage in 1995-98, they had shared a tattoo needle, which gave her the tragic diagnosis.
She said that the doctors' proclamation had "turned [her] life inside out". "It was not fear of death," she recalled, "but fear of what might happen to my young children." She said that the hepatitis C diagnosis had "colored and corrupted [her] decisions".
But she had gotten a lifeline in the form of medications for the condition. But, it wasn't easy - she said it "took everything" in her bank to get the drugs she needed for the treatment. Luckily for her, it worked - and she was free of the disease by 2015.
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The 'Baywatch' Icon Also Said She Was "Ashamed"
But the Baywatch icon said that it wasn't just the threat of death that made her suffer. Her "experience of shame and guilt" also affected her in a more "unconscious" way. She reflected on it, saying it "stays" with her, and "haunts" her.
"And just like the sexual abuse that I endured as a child," she said, "it felt like it was carved into my forehead: damaged goods."
But she does not view herself as a victim, rather, "a victor". "I am strong and capable," she announced to the crowd. "More now than I could ever dream of. I'm not the damsel in distress, no matter how easy that role is to play."
And that was reflected at the charity gala. The Baywatch icon was given the Award of Courage.
We're glad that she managed to battle the disease and is still here with us today!
