Reimer has gone public with her hepatitis C diagnosis and treatment in hopes of breaking the stigma around the disease.

More than 250,000 Canadians are believed to be infected with hepatitis C, but 40 to 70 per cent are unaware they harbour the blood-borne virus because it can take decades before symptoms become evident.

Health Canada has approved a drug being touted as a cure for hepatitis C, a disease believed to have infected hundreds of thousands of Canadians, many of whom are unaware they harbour the virus.