Want to do *something* to fight against herpes? Do this!

[solvetheproblem]

Do you think 15 minutes of your time can help make a HUGE difference in the fight against herpes? Yes, it can! If you’ve been wanted to do *something* to help turn herpes into an obsolete virus, here’s your chance.

April is National STD Month, and we are trying to use that as a rallying cry for action. We want to convince Oprah to do an hour-long segment on this “invisible epidemic”. If her show can turn an obscure book into a New York Times bestseller, imagine what it could do to speed up the development of a vaccine (or even possibly a cure) for herpes! As they say, strength is in numbers – and that’s something we in this community have. Here’s what to do.

Write a Letter

Please take 10 minutes and write a letter. Feel free to use this letter http://herpesisnormal.com/wp-content/uploads/2009/03/letter-to-oprah.doc (or pieces from it) if you’re not sure what to say. Other things you might like to include:

• A brief recap of how you contracted herpes, and how it has affected your life
• Any statistics not mentioned in the form letter that made an impact on you (please be sure to include a link to your source for the information, too)
• A photo of yourself, so that the producer can see you are a normal, real person who just happens to have a common, but highly-stigmatized, skin condition
• Sign it using your first name, a nickname, or your full name -- whatever you feel comfortable with

Call for Action

Whatever your letter says, please make sure it ends with the following call to action; we want to present a “united front” in what we are asking the public to do.

"Actions 1-2-3 against HSV":

1. Get tested. Make it a routine practice to request a HerpeSelect test (or one of the other tests recommended at http://www.ashastd.org/pdfs/blood_test.pdf) when you go for your annual physical exam. Blood tests can also be done anonymously, using a service like http://www.requestatest.com.
2. Educate yourself about herpes. Read this fact sheet http://www.ashastd.org/pdfs/Herpes_factsheet.pdf and check out the other resources at http://www.ashasted.org -- to protect yourself, as well as to spread compassion to the millions of people who currently have HSV.
3. Donate to worthwhile university research programs that are actively working on new treatments that might lead to a vaccine (or even a cure!) at either http://www.herpesisnormal.com or http://www.curehsv.com. Both of these websites provide direct links to promising research at Duke, Harvard, and the University of Florida. You can also donate specifically to HSV research at the American Social Health Association website (https://www.ashastd.org/commerce/donations/donation_form_cc.cfm).

Send the Letter

Send the letter to the producers at the Oprah show. You can send it electronically, by mail – or both! Please try to do this by April 6, as we are trying to flood the Oprah producer offices with emails and letters at the same time.

There are a few options for sending your letter.

• Send it to the “main gateway” for new Oprah show ideas at https://www.oprah.com/ord/plugform.jsp?plugId=216. However, you’ll need to be brief: this site only accepts letters up to 2000 characters. Please feel free to use this brief message http://herpesisnormal.com/wp-content/uploads/2009/03/letter.pdf, if you need some ideas on what to say.

• Send it directly to the email boxes for each producer. Go to the Oprah.com producer blog website (http://www.oprah.com/article/oprahshow/20090313-tows-producer-facebook-blogs). You’ll see the photos for each producer; click on their name. To the right of their blog, you’ll see an “About Me” section – click on “send message” (NOTE: you *will* need to set up a username/password on Oprah.com in order to do this). Please send your letter to each producer, but especially to Gina, as I believe a show on herpes would fall under her purview.

• Send a hardcopy to:

The Oprah Winfrey Show
Attention: Show Producer Gina S.
PO Box 909715
Chicago, IL 60690
USA

Let us know you sent a message to Oprah!

Please take a second and post to this thread – letting us know that you’ve sent a letter, and how you’ve sent it (electronically and/or the mail).

Forward this message to others!

Please forward this message to others who want to do *something* to bring much-needed attention to HSV.

Thanks for taking action – by working together, we can move forward in finding a solution to the herpes epidemic. And please keep checking back on this forum; we will be posting more “calls to action” in the near future!

[lillis104]

Thank you so much solvetheproblem...this is a great idea ! Count me in !

I was driving the other day and I was thinking about how much the stigma really does play into having this disease...how this is actually the worst part of it by far. Its the fact that no one talks openly about it and it has to be such a big secret. We don't get the public sympathy like other diseases get. With herpes, its just an automatic label like "oh, she must sleep around" or "this person is dirty and can never have sex again, so stay away from him" A family member that doesn't know I have HSV recently made this comment about somebody he knows. If he only knew what it's like ! That's the problem, people have no idea its like! The shame, the fear, the hurt, the anger, the guilt, the hopelessness, the devastation....
I've even experienced a degrading comment from a nurse practitioner-who is supposedly "objective" when it comes to this kind of thing.
What would it be like if everyone could just see this disease for what it really is ? Its a contagious skin disease that doesn't go away. It can happen to anybody...from all walks of life. Its sooooo common and it just continues to spread. It really is an invisible epidemic.

I read in my mom's old nursing textbook from the 1980's that back then 18 million people in the United States had oral or genital herpes. Umm, isn't it 45 million now ? I wonder how many people will have it in 20 more years if herpes continues to be a hush hush, taboo disease that isn't considered "important" enough or "deadly" enough to cure ?

[lillis104]

Solvetheproblem,
I wrote a letter to Gina and I'm sending a hard copy in the mail Monday 4/6 and will send an email too since the letter will get there kind of late.

C'mon fellow HSV sufferers ! We need some more people doing this !

[Angela]

Be sure and e-mail me your letters for posting on the site as well!

Angela

[solvetheproblem]

Thanks, Lillis104, for writing a letter! I am also keeping a tally of contributors from other forums here -- hopefully, we can work together to communicate to the Oprah producers how important a topic this is...

[Angela]

solvetheproblem,

Send me your letter so I can post it on my Herpes Awareness page.

[sailaway76]

So did we get her attention?

[Angela]

So did we get her attention?

Whose attention?

Angela

[LustforLife]

So did we get her attention?

Whose attention?

Angela

solvetheproblem, who has apparently left the building.

[TSR]

I just joined. Is it too late to send this to the Oprah Show?

[LustforLife]

probably 6 months too late...but, hey, give it a shot if you so desire. could be a kick in the pants...

[Angela]

Any time you'd like to share an important letter I'm happy to post that on my site. You are welcome to remain anonymous as well. Just let me know.