Call the CDC -- A Celebrity Is Sick

You couldn't miss the headline: Charlie Sheen is HIV positive. Networks scrambled to cover the news that he had a virus that could someday, maybe or maybe not, lead to AIDS. I admit, as a journalist, I too told his tale of woe, describing how, despite a reckless past, he had now learned his lesson and sought the medical treatment necessary to make the virus undetectable in his blood. I also, on a daily basis, have updated Lamar Odom's condition and that of other celebrities that wound up in the hospital. But, in my quiet hours at home I wondered, is this news? Do we really need to act as if the entire nation or the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention should be on high alert simply because a celebrity is sick? Of course, I'm aware that ratings, page views, and tweets sometimes drive coverage. Celebrities have a built in fan base and that means people are desperate to learn anything they can about them. And, if they're sick, people will comment endlessly about their condition. I have no problem with that as long as the discussions are expanded to educating people. Everyone's suffering is news. Yet people who aren't in the limelight, like me, who suffer from a chronic illness, are virtually invisible. Our conditions are often not discussed unless they're linked to someone who has made millions. Shouldn't it be the other way? I mean, celebrities have access to the best doctors and treatments, as well as the disposable income to pay for it while the average person fr...
Source: Healthy Living - The Huffington Post - Category: Consumer Health News Source Type: news