Printable Dispatch from AnitaRoddick.com

As you've no doubt heard, earlier this year I announced that I had contracted Hepatitis C through a blood transfusion in the early 1970s, but was unaware that I had it until I went for a routine blood test for a health insurance policy a few years ago. Many people have spoken of my "bravery" in going public with my illness - pish. It shouldn’t take bravery to live life openly despite illness, although our developed world, with its deep fear and denial of mortality, often demands it.

A friend in the USA who has battled depression for the better part of 20 years remarked that her disease is deeply stigmatised and silence is sometimes compulsory. After all, should an insurance company, or a potential employer, or even a prospective suitor discover her illness, assumptions would slam doors in her face. Like hep C, which until recently we just don't seem to want to acknowledge, depression and other forms of mental illness seem to be things we believe go away if we just don't talk about them. In truth, these illnesses and others like tuberculosis and AIDS demand public acknowledgement and education if we stand a chance at preventing, treating, and potentially curing them. And meanwhile, their sufferers wouldn't have to be modern-day lepers - isolated, ashamed, and less likely to seek help.

I enjoyed a recent column by American film reviewer Roger Ebert, who was diagnosed with cancer of the salivary gland and has had to have part of his jaw removed. He was encouraged by friends to stop appearing at film festivals and screenings because of his disfigurement. This is as much about our fear of mortality as it is our obsession with beauty, and Ebert will have none of the above. He writes, “I have received a lot of advice that I should not attend the festival. I'm told that paparazzi will take unflattering pictures, people will be unkind, etc. Frankly, my dear, I don't give a damn. As a journalist I can take it as well as dish it out.” Read Ebert's, "We Spend Too Much Time Hiding Illness" column here.