Lucia’s message to others:
Hepatitis B is preventable and hepatitis C is treatable. It is no reason to discriminate people with the disease if you know how to protect yourself and your family.
I am a Hep Hero because I want to contribute my knowledge of reducing the burden of hepatitis and help the community to actively protect themselves.
I am a Vietnamese women doing a Masters of Public Health and I am strongly interested in health research. My background was mixed public health and medicine. In Vietnam, I practised in hospitals and witnessed many people living with hepatitis B and C in all stages of the disease. Some were even diagnosed with the liver cancer.
After graduating, I worked at the vaccination centre where I directly consulted with the community to administer vaccines to prevent diseases, in particular, hepatitis B. With a relatively high rate of hep B and its high risk of turning into cancer, vaccination is certainly the key to preventing the disease.
Once the community acknowledges the importance of viral hepatitis and how and where to seek help. They will be more responsible for their health.
Hepatitis B is preventable and hepatitis C is treatable. It is no reason to discriminate people with the disease if you know how to protect yourself and your family.
We acknowledge the traditional owners of the lands where we work - the lands of the Woi-Wurrung Wurundjeri people of the Kulin Nations. We express our gratitude to them for their continued care and curation of these lands and waters. We pay our respects to Elders past and present.
LiverWELL observes and honours the Kulin Nation's intrinsic connection to land, sky and water, and the creator Bunjil. LiverWELL is committed to being led and informed by Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islanders on bridging health outcomes for communities and improving liver health.