Street Art Fair Raises Awareness About 'Silent Killer' Hepatitis C

DENVER (CBS4) - Local artists spent Sunday creating a mural to raise awareness about Hepatitis C. It's a disease that patients call a silent killer.

Patients and survivors came out to the event to support World Hepatitis Day, including Rhonda Robineau. Today she is happy and healthy, but it wasn't always that way.

"I contracted the virus about 18 years ago," she said.

Robineau spent nearly two decades fighting Hepatitis C.

"I had cirrhosis and it was killing my liver," she said.

She was finally cured of the disease a year ago, and now works with Hep C Connection in outreach programs about the blood borne virus.

"It breaks down liver functions and can lead to liver cancer and death," said Christopher Grano of the health agency.

He said their street art fair for World Hepatitis Day is to raise awareness about the illness.

"The biggest group at risk are Baby Boomers, people born between 1945 and 1965," he said.

It's an illness that can be cured, but often goes decades without revealing itself, wreaking havoc in a person's body.

"The biggest danger with Hep C is so many people aren't aware of an infection," said Grano.

Local street artists painted a mural dedicated to the message of getting tested and getting treatment.

"It was a tough time, I was very sick for about a year," said Robineau.

The treatment worked for Rhonda, and she hopes others get tested before it's too late.