Cancer chemo vs HCV treatment

[jankar]

Interested in the differences in side effects for these treatments.  It seems from my reading the sx can be similar.  But are the sx for chemo worse than those for HCV treatment?  Perhaps because the dosages are more?

[eureka254]

While it's certainly an anti-viral immuno-therapy, it is, for my husband, who's 17 weeks into treatment, also a 'chemo for cancer' treatment: he has had liver cancer as a complication of hep c, so in his case, it IS an anti-cancer 'chemo' therapy, aimed at both eradicating the virus AND preventing recurrence of cancer.  

[Marc1955]

I see an oncologist for a matter unrelated to my HCV. She is familiar with both therapies because interferon is sometimes used to treat melanomas. She told me that in some ways the interferon therapy is more challenging than the chemotherapy. She said that you feel absolutely terrible when you get a chemo injection but then the side effects subside between injections. As a result, chemo patients have a little easier time struggling through and seeing an end to the treatment road. OTOH, she said that with interferon you just feel bad all the time and so it's very hard to manage the therapy and struggle through. She was actually the only doctor I've met who understood what I was going through and was able to sympathize.

[IMstacie]

I'm interested also.  I know there are forum members that have had both, maybe someone will weigh in.

[lalapple]

i should think so, as we already know, cancer chemo patients lose more hair (right?  am i correct on this?)  and also, i have a family member who works in the hospital and she told me that when cancer chemo patients need Neupogen or Procrit, they take it intravenously rather than subcutaneous that we do at home.  they may experience more pain than we do, thus get weak and need morphine sometimes.  either way, i feel bad for both cases.  no one deserves to be sick and txing like this.  it's not fair.

[Trinity4]

This has been discussed before.  I've heard HCV treatment called anti-viral treatment and also called chemo therapy.

I've been around cancer chemo patients including family members.  I am currently txing and from my own personal experience I don't think I could keep up a 72 wk treatment regime of cancer chemo. Managing OK with my HCV treatment but cancer chemo makes you deathly ill regardless.  However, episodes seem to be more short lived than HCV treatment.  With HCV treatment people react differently.  Some people have very few side effects. Cancer chemo seems much more brutal to me but HCV tx is no walk in the park either.  I would way it's a matter of how you perceive it.
To me it's chemical antiviral therapy treatment....covers all the bases.
Trinity