Pamela Anderson told an audience in Venice on Sunday that when she was diagnosed with hepatitis C in the late 1990s, her doctor said she probably had about ten years to live. There was no cure at the time. She described the diagnosis as a death sentence and said her fear was not of dying but of what would happen to her young children.
Anderson, 59, was receiving amfAR's Award of Courage at the organization's gala in Venice, held during the Venice Film Festival. She said she has been free of the virus since 2015, then added a detail that lands differently than the recovery story itself. Paying for treatment took everything she had in the bank, according to Variety, which reported her remarks. She said the treatment was not yet covered by insurance, and that she felt guilt that others were not granted the same access.
