Seymour, Jane - Dr. Quinn Medicine Woman
By: Dominick A. Miserandino
Jane Seymour, famous actress, known for roles such as Dr. Quinn medicine woman talks about her recent charity work with Diabetes and her involvement in medicine outside of the television series.
DM) How did you get involved with the cause of Diabetes?
JS) My grandmother died of Type II Diabetes, and a large number of my friends also have suffered from the disease. I heard that it was basically an epidemic and a very serious disease, one that kills people silently without their even realizing they have it until it's too late. Treating it is really a combination of diet, exercise and medication from your doctor... Knowing about this disease made me feel that I could be involved in public service by working with this campaign.
DM) Besides the celebrity auction, what else have you done for the cause?
JS) I've done a PSA which is coming out everywhere across the county, and I addressed the association this morning. I also have painted a frame to be sold in a celebrity auction, so basically I'm on the forefront of this thing... I'm publicly speaking out to people and urging them to get tested and get proper care. The more I'm getting involved in this, the more I find that my own personal friends are realizing that they have this problem.
DM) How did it affect you when you learned that some of your friends had diabetes?
JS) I think the good news is that the more I have become involved in this endeavor, the more I feel they're being helped. The sad part is that a lot of the symptoms that one gets from Type II Diabetes are signs that can only be seen after the person is well along his way in the disease.
DM) It seems that the theme of medicine has run throughout your life... from your character, "Dr. Quinn, Medicine Woman", your parents' involvement in medicine, and now this...
JS) My father was a doctor, a very well known doctor, my mother was a Red Cross nurse, and I belong to the Red Cross as well. From the time I was very little, I've been in hospitals, nursing and helping in hospitals. I have actually been around medicine my whole life. Being asked to play the role of Dr. Quinn was amazing because my father's passion was the history of medicine, and I've been growing up like my character with medicine and science all around me. I had a microscope at the age of seven, and I was walking around hospitals from the time I was two or three years old..
DM) It sounds like working with the Diabetes Association was just a natural progression for you at this point.
JS) (pauses) Yes, it was. I'm asked to do a lot of different things, and I won't do anything unless (a) I feel that I can make a difference, or (b) I can relate to it on a personal level. I think that one of the things that is exciting (if you could get excited about it), is that people really can help themselves if they get educated and learn what they should and shouldn't do. I think they can also help their families because this is a huge problem in this country--people eating the wrong things and not exercising--and these poor habits are actually bringing about the diabetes epidemic.
DM) You mentioned that you like doing a project in which you can make a difference. How are some of the ways you look back so far and feel that you have made a difference?
JS) Well, so far, people are paying attention to diabetes. There are so many diseases that it's hard to get people's attention. Diabetes is something that people don't think about, or they try to avoid thinking about it, or it's something that's unavoidable. Diabetes is definitely something that you can learn to live with. At this point, I'm meeting a lot of people who are hearing the beginning of this campaign, and we're actually hearing some feedback from people who are now taking actions to get themselves checked or to educate themselves about the disease.
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