Patients faced with a serious diagnosis are often confronted with more questions than answers. Dealing with the shock of unexpected illness, while simultaneously learning about treatment options and navigating the labyrinth of insurance claims, can be overwhelming.

Andrea Wilson Woods, founder and president of Blue Faery: The Adrienne Wilson Liver Cancer Association, found out firsthand about the challenges facing both those suffering from liver cancer and those who care for them.

Black Americans are 50% more likely to suffer with liver cancer than the general population meaning the need for diagnosis and treatment is high.

Black/African Americans are 50% more likely to get liver cancer than the general population, and incidence rates are climbing. The Love Your Liver campaign provides community members with convenient opportunities to learn more about their unique liver cancer risks and how to actively manage them. Type 2 diabetes and hepatitis C can both lead to liver cancer, so those in the Black/African American community who currently have or previously had one or both of those diseases are at higher risk for liver cancer. Both type 2 diabetes and hepatitis C are preventable and treatable, so education and early detection are vital to improving survival rates.

Love Your Liver Live, a Black History Month Community Event series, kicks off on February 22, 2024, at 7 p.m. ET with a live, virtual education workshop featuring Miriam Atkins, MD, a medical oncologist with multispecialty clinics in Georgia and South Carolina. The second live, virtual educational workshop will be on February 29, 2024, at 8 p.m. ET and features Gia Landry, MD, a hepatologist with Ochsner in Baton Rouge. These free virtual workshops allow community members to learn about relevant liver cancer risks and how to manage them from a trusted local physician.

At AstraZeneca, our patients are at the heart of what we do. This patient-first mindset goes beyond developing treatments for our patients with liver cancer – the fastest-rising cause of cancer-related deaths in the US and the sixth most commonly diagnosed cancer worldwide, affecting approximately 41,000 people every year.1-3 For us, learning from—and listening to—our patients is one of the most impactful ways we can serve people living with a liver cancer diagnosis. Partnering with patient advocacy groups who serve as a trusted resource for patients is critical to better serve those affected by liver cancer and their loved ones.

You might not think about your liver health very often. If everything’s in good working order, you might not think you have to. But, according to the American Liver Foundation, liver disease affects more than 100 million Americans. The foundation cautions that when it’s left untreated, liver disease can lead to liver failure, cancer and can even be fatal—in 2020, it was the 12th leading cause of death in the US. With numbers like those, and a personal history with liver disease, former Yankees star Bernie Williams is stepping up to bat to help spread awareness about the importance of supporting your liver health.

He recently helped launch One Liver to Love in partnership with Eisai as well as Global Liver Institute (GLI) and Blue Faery, which are both patient advocacy organizations that provide education and resources to people living with liver cancer. The initiative hopes to offer support to families like Williams’ who are impacted by liver disease.

A glance at Adrienne Wilson’s online journal provides some insight into the mind of a teenager wise beyond her years.