Aerosmith's Steven Tyler has been secretly battling hepatitis C — a serious viral infection of the blood, often associated with dirty needles, that can lead to chronic liver disease.
But the 58-year-old recovering drug addict tells "Access Hollywood's" Nancy O'Dell that after a year of interferon treatments, "It is nonexistent in my bloodstream … where it's like a complete cure."
In an interview airing tomorrow night, Tyler says he was diagnosed three years ago but "I've had hepatitis C for a long time, asymptomatic.
"I've been pretty quiet about this," he says. "The band took a break about three years ago. … [My doctor] said now is the time, and it's 11 months of chemotherapy" — actually, interferon, which strengthens the immune system — "so I went on that, and it about killed me."
He added: "You know, it really hurt. It was a bad, bad period. I'm in AA, and I tried to go three, four, five months with nothing, and it about killed me.
"Hepatitis C is the one that, of all the people in this room, at least three have it and don't know it," Tyler says. "It's the silent killer. I may go on 'Oprah' and talk about this. I hope you don't mind me mentioning that."
Daily Dish
According to Star, Steven Tyler allegedly told an interviewer that the former Baywatch babe Pamela Anderson, 39, was joining Kid Rock, 35 on tour "because she's pregnant."
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