Actor Terrence Jenkins Expands Involvement in PH Media Campaign

Terrence Jenkins, second-year celebrity ambassador of the Pulmonary Hypertension Association (PHA), will appear in a print and digital public service ad campaign throughout 2017 to raise awareness about pulmonary hypertension (PH).

Jenkins, better known as “Terrence J,” knows firsthand some of the frustrations of battling a rare disease like PH.

Terrence J. Jenkins. (Photo credit: Shutterstock)

He rose to fame as an entertainment host, first with BET’s “106 & Park” and later with E! News. Last year he was the leading man in “The Perfect Match,” hosted the unscripted TV reality show “Coupled” and wrote ‘The Wealth of My Mother’s Wisdom: The Lessons That Made My Life Rich” — a book about he sacrifice, courage, loyalty, dreams, and perseverance he learned from his mother Lisa.

The actor and TV personality — who this year marks a new talent deal with MTV and VH1 — will uses his status as a platform to help those with PH.

“After spending time with people living with PH, their personal and professional caregivers and some who’ve lost loved ones to the disease, I’ve seen how debilitating and devastating PH can be,” Jenkins said in a press release. “I’m touched, humbled and honored that PHA has given me the opportunity to use my voice to reach people who may have PH and not know it because for them awareness can be a matter of life or death.”

PHA is the only national nonprofit offering support and educational resources for patients, families, caregivers, healthcare professionals and PH researchers. Its public service campaigns, like the one Jenkins is supporting, aim to help raise awareness and educate the public about the disease.

PH is characterized by an increase in blood pressure in the lungs, which can lead to right-heart failure. It can affect infants, children and adults of all ages and ethnicities. Its symptoms often lead doctors to misdiagnose the condition as asthma.

Here are some useful online resources for people with PH or those whose loved ones are fighting the disease.