The purpose of the “Love Your Liver” (#LoveYourLiver) campaign is to educate the public and at-risk populations about liver disease and thereby help to prevent hepatocellular carcinoma (HCC). By pairing Valentine’s Day, a well-known holiday dedicated to love, with HCC, a serious disease that may go undetected, the subject matter will be more approachable, and more memorable. In the 2022 campaign, we are focusing on African Americans as a population group with higher risk for developing HCC.
In America, one in three adults is living with liver disease, and 50% of Americans live with at least one of the leading risk factors for liver disease. Hepatitis C is a common cause of liver cancer, and more than 3.2 million Americans have contracted it. Of those, 704,000 are African Americans. African-American women are 30% more likely than the national average to die from liver cancer, and African-American men are 60% more likely. Most types of liver cancer are preventable, but especially in the African-American population, symptoms are often undetected, overlooked, or do not develop until later stages of the disease.
Blue Faery will host a live webinar event on Saturday, February 19 between 1:00 and 2:30 PM ET to spread awareness and increase the prevention of liver cancer and disease. To register for the event, go to the LoveYourLiver! page.
The event will include some very special guests:
- Maranda Curtis, gospel singer and campaign spokesperson, will debut her newest song.
- Dr. Lewis Roberts, a gastroenterologist at Mayo Clinic, will lead the discussion about liver disease and liver cancer in the African-American/Black communities.
- Sheila Thorne, president of MHMG and recently named Schneps Media Power Woman of Manhattan, will moderate the discussion.
Other panelists include nurses from the National Black Nurses Association
In response to requests from our physician advisory board, Blue Faery: Adrienne Wilson Liver Cancer Association is conducting a 28-day public awareness campaign titled “Love Your Liver!” to focus on the prevention and early detection of HCC. The LoveYourLiver! page hosts a number of patient stories and videos that will help physicians and patients to discuss the risks of liver cancer and disease more easily.
Blue Faery is a nonprofit corporation established in memory of Adrienne Wilson, who died from stage IV liver cancer at the age of 15. Adrienne had contracted hepatitis B and hepatitis C from her mother during childbirth (ie, vertical transmission), but this chronic infection was asymptomatic and remained undiagnosed until her primary liver cancer was discovered as a result of secondary symptoms. Though Adrienne was not the typical age, gender, or ethnicity for HCC, she experienced the most common cause: viral hepatitis. Blue Faery has dedicated time and energy to creating programs for HCC research, education, and advocacy. Now, we’re launching programs that focus on prevention. Liver cancer is one of the deadliest cancers, yet it is highly preventable.
The campaign went live on February 1, and a new video will be released each day to help people understand more about liver disease and liver disease prevention. The campaign page is located at https://loveyourliver.us. The official Love Your Liver Campaign hashtag is #loveyourliver. Please use this hashtag during February to promote the early detection and prevention of liver cancer and disease. Feel free to tag @bluefaerylivercancer in your social media posts using the profiles below:
Facebook: @bluefaerylivercancer
Twitter: @bluefaeryliver
LinkedIn: @blue-faery
Instagram: @bluefaeryliver
Join us on this journey to increase liver cancer awareness, increase liver disease awareness among your patients and staff, and help everyone love their liver!
Campaign Goals
The Love Your Liver campaign seeks to:
- Increase awareness of primary liver cancer
- Educate the public about the common causes of HCC
- Prevent liver cancer by identifying risk factors associated with HCC
- Improve early detection of the disease by encouraging at-risk populations to act
The campaign website uses fun, creative, accessible, and impactful messaging to avoid the stigma attached to liver cancer and provides clinically accurate but digestible content to inform the public about liver cancer and liver disease. It describes ways to identify liver disease, prevent liver disease, get tested for liver disease, and identify early symptoms of the disease. We hope to create a lasting and measurable impact on the public to inspire them to take the necessary actions to prevent liver cancer and liver disease.
Target Audiences
The campaign can be a vehicle for advancing patient education and a means to encourage patients to discuss their risks with their physician. Physicians can share the campaign information with at-risk patients, and we anticipate that some patients will approach their physician as a result of the campaign.
The primary audience is those who are potentially at risk for HCC due to known underlying liver conditions or potentially at-risk for liver disease that may cause HCC due to lifestyle, viruses (HBV, HCV), or environment. The secondary audience consists of caregivers of the primary audience population; Blue Faery has found that for every patient who joins its online community, two caregivers join. Caregivers tend to respond to more outreach opportunities, including online advertising.
The campaign site provides materials and messages that are aimed at these two audiences and addresses key questions they might have, such as:
- Why would I be at risk?
- Why should I care about my liver?
- How can I find out if my liver is healthy?
Prizes!
In addition to receiving accurate and actionable information, people who sign up to take daily liver-protecting actions described by the campaign stand a chance of winning prizes, including an Apple watch.
PWeekly