Jon's goal is to motivate those diagnosed with this disease to take action before it progresses, something his father didn't do. Jon is in Chicago meeting with patient advocacy groups to share his experience and what he wishes he had known sooner. Chronic hep C disproportionately affects people in this country with 3.2 million Americans living with the disease. To help elevate discussion of the disease, Jon Secada joined Gregg Allman and Natalie Cole in to bring chronic hep C awareness to the forefront of conversations through the Tune In to Hep C public awareness campaign.
JON SECADA BIO:
Three-time GRAMMY® award-winning recording artist and songwriter Jon Secada is a talented Cuban-American star who has released a string of hits in both Spanish and English. Jon has sold more than 20 million albums since his self-titled debut album in 1992. Throughout his career, he has earned great success not only as a vocalist, but also as a songwriter and producer for other artists, including Gloria Estefan, Jennifer Lopez, Ricky Martin and Mandy Moore.
In addition to his passion for music, Jon believes in the importance of helping others. He has donated his time to charities around the world and was appointed by President George W. Bush to serve on the President's Advisory Commission on Educational Excellence for Hispanic Americans. Now, Jon is using the lessons his family learned about living with chronic hepatitis C to help educate others and raise awareness of the disease that took the life of his father in 2011.
Jon's father, José, chose to keep his diagnosis of chronic hepatitis C a secret for more than a decade. He may have been living with the disease for years before that, because like many, José did not experience any symptoms. Although he had been diagnosed for years, José never gave his condition the attention it deserved and waited too long to do something about his disease. Jon wishes his father had told him earlier about his diagnosis so he could have encouraged him to take action by going to his healthcare provider. Jon's message to people living with chronic hepatitis C is simple: You can't be silent with a silent disease. Talk to your doctor so you know your options and talk to your family because they want to be there for you. Don't wait to take action.
Like many Hispanic Americans, the Secadas are a very close family, but they rarely took the time to discuss their health. Jon hopes his personal story will motivate people with chronic hepatitis C to be comfortable talking about it, both with their loved ones and with their healthcare providers. While his father took great pride in supporting for his family, Jon has learned one of the best ways to provide for your family is to take care of yourself and your health.
