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Trying to cope

What is the average life span for a person who has hepatitis C and left untreated?
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Staying on top of health issues has always been something that i have done for myself. You seem to be the same type of person. Unfortunately not everyone beats to the same drum as we do. Being pro-active in life should be on everyone's list.
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  Oh, P.S.,  your relative can still try for a Liver Transplant~  Katy
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   I am so sorry about your family member, jjd1959.  Unfortunately,
what you have described, about the cirrhosis and the cancer sneaking up, with-out symptoms, is fairly characteristic of Hep C, and that is why it is referred to, as the Silent Killer.
   This is why it is very important for us to get the Hep C education out
here. I had many misconceptions about the disease myself.  
  
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Thanks for responding. In my family members case, cirrhosis and cancer kicked in before he felt any real symptoms. The moral of the story is to stay on top of these issues before they get out of hand. Good luck and press on. Thanks again.
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Thanks for your response. Your take on it is very accurate. Unfortunately for a family member, cirrhosis and cancer has set it. Now it's in Gods hands. Thanks again
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Thank you for the response. I have a family member who has carried this disease for 45 years without any real issues. Now, cancer has unfortunately raised its ugly head. We are trying hard to cope with this situation. Thanks again.
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Thank you so much for your response. It is very helpful.
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Avatar universal
  It's not the Hepatitis C that kills people, but their individual immune systems' reaction to the virus:  If your body doesn't see it as a foriegn body, worth fighting, then the virus lives peacefully and symbiotically, within your liver, and will not create damage at all.
  If your body sees the Hep C virus as a foriegn invader, (even though, if left alone, it would not harm) then it goes on attack, and this is NOT a good thing. When our immune systems CHOOSE to attack the Hep C virus, then inflammation occurs, which leads to scar tissue, which leads to cirrhosis~

   The best way to find out if you have scar tissue, is with a biopsy, although a simple lab test (CBC and comprhensive metabolic panel) can tell you if your liver enzymes (referred to on labs as AST ALT ) are indeed elevated~
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163305 tn?1333668571
Some people never have liver damage from hep C.
They can die with it, not from it.
Others land up with cirrhosis and without a transplant, will die.
It is not known at this point in time, why some get extensive damage while others have none, or little.

What a person with hep C mainly needs to be concerned with is the health of their liver.
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Avatar universal
Hi,
It is not really possible to answer your question, especially since you provided no details.
HCV is a slow moving disease, most people don't begin to have symptoms until they become cirrhotic and even then there are cirrhotics that do not have symptoms until they reach end stage.
For most of us, we can go 20-30 years with HCV before our health begins to fail. It really depends on how your body responds to the virus and what your lifestyle is.
I will be 60 this month and I just treated. Had I not, I am certain I wouldn't be long for this world. I was approaching end stage. It was very painful. I could hardly walk and I spent my days in a stupor.
No one can tell you when you will die, but if you are serious about wanting to know what your chances are to live a pain free and long life untreated you need to tell us what condition your liver is in, your age, how long you have had it, your current lifestyle etc.
There are a lot of well informed and brilliant people on this forum who will be happy to discuss your question, but you really need to fill in the details for them if you want a helpful response.
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1280753 tn?1367757932
everyone is different and it depends on so many factors; weight, drinking, geno type, physical health.  you should know what stage you are and try to stay in good health. but there are great drugs in the pipeline which will make treating so much easier. .... good luck
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