Is untreated HCV a death sentence?

[pcds]

I have read many posts from people that say if untreated you wll die of complicatons of HCV.  That is not true.  Only 5% get liver cancer and it's hard to tell the progression of cirrohsis especially if your lifestyle is healthy.   I've had HCV for 40 yrs and only stopped etoh 2009.  Stage 0-1.  People are different.  I work in a hosptal ICU, 8 years and have seen 1 liver cancer from HCV and the patient was a heavy drinker.   All the HCV patients I see in the ICU with GI bleeds, cirr. are actively drinking heavily.  I am not saying this virus is a good thing to have, I am treating currently.  I just want people who want to wait for less toxic drugs not to bee so fearful if their liver can wait.

[can-do-man]

What i find odd, right now theres a thread about people joking about those with HCV, people with HCV get outraged over the stigma being attached. Yet when one attaches the stigma that people with cirrhosis or HCC are alcoholics, ones try and defend it...........

Since the ones defending it are lucky and are not dealing with cirrhosis or HCC, just like the ones putting down people with HCV are lucky and don't have HCV.

So i guess if the stigma don't involve you, then its fine???

[can-do-man]

"so I'll just leave those who agree with her to defend her stance."

Thats just it. Her defenders keep trying to put words in her mouth, yet shes made it quite clear what she means........

[eureka254]

" I see many people in the ICU with hep c and all of them are drinking alcohol, that's why they are so very sick."
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I don't find that accurate, caring, or sensitive.  Even after 50 comments, she doesn't see that there's anything wrong with that point of view, so I'll just leave those who agree with her to defend her stance.  God bless all HCVers.
~eureka

[eureka254]

"and for the folks with advanced hcv i think we all here feel so sorry for what they go through and wish we could do something to help"
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Thank you working dog, I feel the same way too, but there comes a point in this disease where there is nothing any of us can do to help.  

Though if you read the original post, the rationalization put forth seems to be that you only get advanced hcv if you drink, and that hcv only puts you in ICU if you are a heavy drinker, and that it's not a death sentence otherwise -- both an incorrect and offensive presumption.  

We already have enough false prejudices attached to hcv and ESLD, we certainly don't need someone in the healthcare field further perpetuating false myths about hcv.  And to be perfectly honest, I think those who have hcv and are alcoholics deserve as much caring and sympathy and compassion if they wind up in ICU as those who don't drink, but that's my personal bias.  

I do think discussion about our different points of view can be healthy if we don't accuse others of being nasty; as I said, though I don't agree in the slightest with pcds and her point of view, I do still wish her SVR.  No one should have to die because of this awful disease, whatever might be contributing to the  hastening of liver failure.

[working dog]

one thing for sure...the info and excitement of the up and coming tx without interferon is much greater then 6 months ago or even 8 months ago when many of us set up our lives to tx with triple...that being said ..myself as well as many started triple tx with very little info on the non interferon tx...things are changing so fast...a few months ago i would say to folks tx now if you can with triple...now i would say wait a while if your hep c isn't too bad...i recall so many folks a few years ago and especially last year recommending to wait for the triple tx...now its the new tx without interferon...if judy didn't care about people she wouldn't be spending her time trying to get this point across ...and for the folks with advanced hcv i think we all here feel so sorry for what they go through and wish we could do something to help...i know no matter how much i may have a different point of view then others here i would still hope the best for everyone ..good luck to everyone..billy

[Bali05]

There is another aspect to postponing tx not just amount of liver damage.
As time goes by one can develope other health conditions that can
make HCV tx much more complicated and/or difficult or even impossible.
There is no better time to fight the "dragon" than when you are strong and
healthy.