i know......there are too many diseases we can get from this. Trading HCV for god knows what...It makes us all wonder are we doing the right thing. Trading one illness for unfortunately and possibly many more......I just dont know and neither does anyone else it seems.....we wont know the effect this has on our future for many years to come.
??
Very hard to be positive with so many negatives........
I should be starting treatment in the fall..if I dont change my mind.......
hope you are hangin in there....i find myself speechless at times talking about the unknown...
Isnt that a terrible thing that the doctor told you regarding god forbid the cancer situation since he doesnt know??
Health to you
Bonnie
Im a 2/2 and truly dnt know what to do yet.
I really hope your okay.
Well I would say that it is good news but there is not any cure for a virus. My dr told me that since i haven't had to use rescue drugs and I am on extended tx 62/72 that if my 6 month pcr came back undet that I was probably 99% sure the viruswould remain dormant unless I got cancer ie chemo it could reactivate it. so theres still the virus there but it is supressed and dormant. I really wish we could have a cure!!
Well, you notice it says virus not detected in 99% of patients "for up to seven years" and yes, my mother did the treatment and for three viral counts, the virus was undetected. But on her last count after treatment was finished, they detected the virus again. So, yes, virus was gone for about three weeks, which is all this article states. Now over a year later, she's in the same boat she was in before treatment. Her Hep C was contracted after childbirth. After she delivered two of her children (myself in 1972 and a sister who deceased in 1967) she had blood transfusions. The doctors are not doing the treatment again. She was in stage 4 liver damage before treatment and they are re-evaluating her now. She had ultrasound today and will find out if she has any lesions that may be cancerous, so they've asked her in advance if she would have transplant if that is the case. It's so frightening. The sadest part is that she contracted the disease and always had insurance, but noone even knew she had the disease until a little over two years ago. Wouldn't you have thought that in physicals for over thirty years someone would have picked it up? Take care everyone!
It clearly trumpets the pretty damned awful status quo as some miraculous breakthrough. It's an irresponsible piece of cr_p.
For those interested, here's the URL to the story:
http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/health/6679275.stm
I found the BBC article on this to be misleading in that it began by saying: "Standard therapy with pegylated interferon and ribavirin removed all detectable virus in 99% of patients for up to seven years."
Then later says: "After successful treatment with injections of pegylated interferon alone or in combination with ribavirin only eight patients tested positive for the virus in the following seven years."
Along with: "Early treatment is usually effective."
I felt it leaves the impression that HCV is easily treated, most people clear on treatment, and the treatment can be viewed as a "cure". When in reality it says that only 99% of those who are fortunate to clear the virus during treatment and remain clear (i.e. no relapse) during the first 6 months post treatment have generally remained clear up to 7 years later.
What about the other 1% who were UND 6 months post tx?
What about those who relapsed post-tx before the 6 month recheck?
Greater still is that it fails to reveal the true numbers of those infected who attempt treatment but fail to achieve UND for various reasons (one being the ineffectiveness of the medications for some persons)!!! To date, I have not seen a study which changes the 50/50 chance of clearing established for Genotype 1's which is a disproportionately large number of the infections, particularily in the West!
All in all I found it to be very misleading and seemed to be trying to white-wash the true nature of this insidious disease, how wide it reaches, and how difficult it remains to treat! True, it at least has a treatment that works for half of those infected, or as some can testify for those who are fortunate and persistent enough to treat, treat, and treat again until the Wyrm is dead!
Always nice to see you in the neighborhood. To be clear - no sour grapes here either. Infact, I worry less about the residual virus than you, I think. It is what it is and I expect we can coexist just fine. I was just agitated at that lame article. Could the editor have been so niave?
As you know these are the things nobody wants to talk about. Even most posters on the HCV Forums like to skip blithely over the repeated research reports showing low level replicating viral strands in various compartments in almost all of the long term SVR folks. I am not being negative, or 'sour grapes'....I am very glad to be SVR....but I would also like to someday understand the FULL story.
If there is more to know about HCV, and even if there is more to be done after SVR...then I want that information as well. If it turns out that our cures are really total CURES, and that no virus remains in the body to cause subtle problems, or autoimmune issues, then I will really celebrate. At this point I really do not hear ANY doctors out there saying this is the case. What they are saying is that if you become SVR you will most likely remain SVR. That is truly wonderful, and I am gratified! BUT, it does not really say that there is no possibility of lingering, sub-detectable virus, or no potential for compartmentalized virus to remain at extremely low levels and disrupt various organs or systems.
Many HCV and viral researchers claim direct evidence supporting this idea of long term, low level viral infection after SVR, but the treating doctors generally tent to either ignore these reports, or state that they are based on poor technique or methodology, and hence not valid.
All I want is ongoing research to discover as much as possible about the virus, and how to deal with it fully and completely. If we are already there....then we can all celebrate. But that news is not yet validated!
For all those who will rail against my 'reality check' and claim that the case is closed, and SVR is 'all there is baby', then let me be clear:
SVR is fantastic, wonderful, a life saver, a form of cure.....and I am eternally grateful! .....But, I think there is more to be uncovered, and I am not afraid to see what shakes out. Who knows what consensus on HCV will be in ten or twenty years!
And I am continuing to enjoy my SVR, along with all the warts and wrinkles!
DoubleDose
It's there on the BBC page, sandwiched between Virgin Shark Birth and Viagra Curing Jetlag - I kid you not.
What a poorly written piece of drivel - it certainly would make one with a less jaundiced eye think that 99% could be cured - but it actually says after *successful* treatment with Peg & Riba. So yup, red hot news flash - those who SVR, SVR! Of coursee they didn't touch on the issue of the presence of neg strand RNA in biopsied liver tissue from SVRs.......
Sure hope it is a 'cure'. This is a helluv a ride to think anything different. Remember you telling me a couple days ago, this is your 2nd go at it FlGuy, did you hear a repeat on the radio? Just glad we're in the news and hope its true.
I hate to be pessimistic but I just watched the news and not one word were said about it. If it were true, I am sure it would have been a major, news-breaking story.
Oh I know I have been reading this also for years...however I truly believe we are closer than ever before.........Totally understand where your coming from.
Bonnie
Looks like it......!!!! Were going to get there .... And the funny thing is I will be in Dr. Schifffs office 9-14. Now I really cant wait.
Very very promising...for Dr. Schiff to say 99% .................
One more time..heard it again on the radio and Dr. Schiff said its 99% cure.
We all must rejoice today...we have come a long way.................
Rejoice!! Rejoice!!!
And Toto too!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!
Just looked up on th BBC news, first page, bottom under ,health. It did say that pegulated interfuron and riboviron , are the cure they talkin about, they are saying study shows it works! At first I too thought new cure discovered, but that not the case, so looks like im doing the right thing with pegusys and riboviron!
Just to clarify the news bulletin a little as I know you're just starting to learn about Hepatitis C and treatment.
This isn't anything new to this announcement -- no new drugs, etc, etc -- just a release on a paper recently presented. That's not to say it isn't very positive.
In essence what they are saying is that if you reach SVR (non-detectible for six months after treatments) then you will most probably remain SVR. In other words, the virus does not come back.
As to the word "cure" -- as far as I'm concerned, I am cured until someone can demonstrate anything contrary that has some clinical significance.
-- Jim
that was just to funny.......................haaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaa
Last couple weeks are looking up. HGB hovers around 11.5 - which was the target. When it's about there, life is easier. Also just rounded the corner on week 30 and to me that sounds like a BIG number behind me. A week ago you mentioned Tiger making a putt. I haven't missed one in 30 weeks. Haven't made one either, though.
It was phrased like a bulletin that was the exciting part. Cant wait for you to hear it sounds so dam good.
We shall see.................
hey man, those one-liners are rollin off a you lately, you must be doing pretty good! cause that shite is making you funny!
Still at work, but I listen to 610. I'll tune in when I get out of here. They usually repeat the news stories in drive time. Right now the only things cured in my life are ham and epoxy.