Making a Difference In the Vietnamese Community
July 2, 2008
When Tran Huyen Tieu, 28, found out her father had liver cancer last year, it was one of the scariest moments of her life.
Though he was diagnosed with chronic hepatitis B eight years ago and had regular checkups, his blood tests were always normal. No one suspected he had liver cancer until a minor accident sent him to the hospital and a CT scan revealed otherwise.
Tieu helped schedule medical appointments for her father, who does not speak fluent English. She noted that hepatitis B is a “complicated” disease in terms of follow-up, and one of the biggest struggles she faced was a lack of bilingual materials on the disease.
“In Vietnamese culture, it is very taboo to talk about health, and I want to change that by sharing my story,” said Tieu, whose father did undergo surgery and is doing well, though his cancer has recently returned.
Tieu has now made it her goal to help educate others, specifically those in the Vietnamese community, about hepatitis B. She is currently volunteering for the Asian Liver Center at Stanford to educate the Vietnamese community about hepatitis B.
Tieu is one of the panelists that will be speaking on June 28 at a free hepatitis B screening geared toward the Vietnamese American community. One in seven Vietnamese Americans are chronically infected with hepatitis B, and two out of three are unaware that they are infected.
The screening is open to the public and will take place at 10 a.m. to 1 p.m. at O’Connor Hospital in the MOB Auditorium.
Sponsored by Asian Americans for Community Involvement, the American Cancer Society, the Asian Liver Center and Viet Hep B Free — UCSF, the event will also include free lunch, gifts and educational materials. Screenings are confidential and space is limited.
For more information on the June 28 screening, call 1-888-311-3331. For more about the S.F. Hep B Free campaign: sfhepbfree.org.
Related articles:
Testing Positive: Now What?
Ethnic Media Unites to Spread S.F. Hep B Free Message
Comments
Got something to say?