Amal Ahmed, a 52-year-old Egyptian woman who lives in Cairo, told us: “I felt a continuing pain in my chest and abdominal area, so I decided to go and do a few medical tests in a hospital in Nasr City, where I discovered that I had hepatitis C".
“Once I knew my diagnosis, I felt so scared and I stayed for days alone without talking to anyone,” she was the first in her family who got the virus. “I thought that there was no cure or treatment, and everybody kept asking me how I got the infection, which make me feel stigmatized”.
A friend informed Amal that her husband has the same disease and he is receiving treatment free of charge. Amal than went to a hospital where she began the treatment to cure the virus: “6 pills were taken on a daily basis, 3 times per day from June 2017 until August 2017,”said Amal.
She described her feelings during this period saying: “I thought it’s an incurable disease, but now I’m fine and thanks God, feeling good”. She mentioned that she met a young girl at the hospital, who just discovered she had hepatitis C, and Amal reassured her and confirmed that the disease was curable.
Amal ended her story by saying: “After thinking about the disease for a long time as though it were a monster, hepatitis C becomes a disease like any other disease”.
Nadia Abou Zed, an Egyptian woman, went to a government hospital in Cairo to do a few medical tests after knowing that her sister got the virus. “I was so scared especially as my husband told me that whoever got the virus collapses without any symptoms, and my medical tests proved that I do have the virus.”
Nadia started her treatment in December 2017 and will be finishing it by the end of February 2018.
She confirmed: “From the first day, I got my treatment free of charge. My sister has the money to buy the medicines but I cannot afford the costs. She thanked the Ministry of Health and Population's free medical services for offering this opportunity and said: “Without receiving the treatment free of charge we couldn’t have made it”.
She ended her story by confirming: “The treatment becomes easier and I keep advising my family and everybody to go and do the test”.
