Cingles Info

touching story me

hmmm......touching stories...

Barb ,The blood probably would not have mattered anyway since their was no
test for hcv pre 1990 ,hiv 1985 much of the blood came from skid row and the
like. Some of it stayed as the same pint but much of it was pooled for
manufacture of blood based drugs ,like clotting factor and look at all the
people that got hiv /hcv from blood prouducts or blood in the US ,you wont see
those stats .Once blood is pooled or batch procssed 1 bad unit contaminates the
whole pool and until 1990 no hcv test and no hcv technicaly. All that was being
done is asking about riskey behavior and testing for what could be tested for,
hcv was still non a non b and not considered a problem ,at least at the public
level at that time, pre 90. Non a non b was diagnosed by your liver test scores
kind of a guess. But when their is money to be made almost anything goes ,its
the American way just keep the public distracted with Oprahs weight problems and
the sexiest man of the year and Clintions affairs and a
load of other shallow crap and the public goes through it in a dase and when
they find out about somthing that matters they forget it by weeks end all wound
up in some other soap oppra shallow crap. Eric

Well thank you for that Grace and thank you for asking the question Dana I am
very glad that fibrosis is showing a response to a healing therapy and greatly
hope for more developments in this area.I have been told by my hepatologist that
the damage I have is so severe that it will never heal but with what I just read
it makes me wonder if that was correct, I mean where do they draw the line and
can the line be pushed farther into the stages of fibrosis with time! Helplessly
Hoping...Michael

Hi Dana,
Here's what I found at http://www.hcvadvocate.org
Can Liver Fibrosis Be Reversed? Still A Widely Debated Topic
Alan Franciscus
Editor-in-Chief
Cirrhosis is a result of late stage scarring in chronic liver
disease. Cirrhosis occurs as a result of progressive damage to the
liver tissue starting with subendothelial or pericentral fibrosis
(hepatic fibrosis) and progresses to panlobular fibrosis with nodule
formation (cirrhosis). Up until now it has been generally thought
that once fibrosis is established it is irreversible. Until recently
the clinical diagnosis of cirrhosis was made based upon the signs and
symptoms of end stage liver disease. Such symptoms include variceal
bleeding, jaundice, ascites, muscle wasting and encephalopathy.
Clinically these symptoms continue to indicate a poor prognosis in
the absence of liver transplantation and are used to classify
severity for patients waiting transplantation. However, due to
advances in the management of liver disease and the impact that
hepatitis C disease management is having, liver biopsies have led to
fibrosis and cirrhosis being diagnosed at an earlier stage. It has
been demonstrated in some studies that early stage fibrosis, and even
advanced cases of cirrhosis can regress during treatment of hepatitis
C even without the benefit of a sustained virological response (SVR)
to treatment with interferon.
Basically, treatment gives the liver a vacation or rest from
inflammation caused by HCV. Providing that the cirrhosis is not at
such an advanced stage that treatment is not an option, treatment is
often used to improve the health of the liver even if the disease
cannot be eradicated.
In February 2001 issue of the New England Journal of Medicine, Hammel
et al discussed a group of patients with liver fibrosis who had
surgery to decompress an obstructed biliary system. In this patient
population, some patients had their liver fibrosis regress
significantly after decompression, which was confirmed by pre and
post liver biopsy. Until this publication the natural history of
histologic changes after biliary decompression had not been discussed
in humans. This study certainly implies that fibrosis caused by
biliary obstruction is reversible in some cases, but studies similar
to this one need to duplicate results to rule out variations in
sampling on liver biopsy. As well, this study was criticized for not
having a control arm or strict selection criteria. Regardless of the
criticism, the apparent improvement in fibrosis after biliary
decompression adds another example to a growing list of specific
interventions, which result in histologic improvements including
fibrosis regression.
There have been consistent reports on the reversibility of liver
fibrosis in humans when the cause of the underlying liver disease is
eliminated. These include abstinence from alcohol, surgical reversal
of jejunoileal (removal of a portion of the small intestine) bypass,
immunosuppressive therapy for autoimmune hepatitis, long term
treatment with lamivudine for chronic hepatitis B, treatment of
hepatitis C and hepatitis D with interferon and, finally, treatment
of primary biliary cirrhosis with methotrexate plus ursodiol.
Over the past decade or so there has been major progress in
understanding the cellular and molecular regulation of hepatic
fibrosis. It has been determined that the build up of scarring in
fibrotic diseases of the liver is not static or a unidirectional
event but a dynamic and regulated process that works well with
intervention.
The growing amounts of clinical and scientific data provide us with
the knowledge that extensive fibrosis or cirrhosis in patients that
still have compensated liver function should no longer be considered
untreatable. Both currently available as well as future therapies
have the potential for preventing the progression of disease by
regression of fibrosis.
Despite growing knowledge on whether liver fibrosis is reversible,
there are still some unanswered questions. Liver fibrosis does not
develop at the same rate in all patients and the fibrotic responses
to therapy will vary from patient to patient. What are the host or
disease specific factors that are linked to both a slower progression
of fibrosis and a positive response to treatment? In addition,
should treatment strategies be better designed to reverse fibrosis
and improve liver health, rather than to only treat when there's a
good probability of a cure? For example, long-term therapy with
alpha interferon may improve fibrosis in patients with chronic
hepatitis C even in those patients who do not experience a virologic
response. With that finding wouldn't long-term alpha interferon
therapy be well justified in patients that do not gain a virologic
response to treatment? It certainly seems to make a case for
physicians to partner with patients to make these important treatment
decisions.

else. Now I am a little confuse hear, so bear with me and don't
attack me!! LOL I did not think that liver damage could be
reversed. I thought treatment was to illiminate the Virus from
attacking the liver. Am I missing something. I hate this should you
or should you not go on treatment and this only confuses me more when
I hear things like this??? Someone help??....................Dana

The treatment basically works to reverse liver damage.
The statement above was something that was implied to someone else. Now I am a
little confuse hear, so bear with me and don't attack me!! LOL I did not think
that liver damage could be reversed. I thought treatment was to illiminate the
Virus from attacking the liver. Am I missing something. I hate this should you
or should you not go on treatment and this only confuses me more when I hear
things like this??? Someone help??....................Dana

Hi Rex and welcome......... there seems to be more chats at delphi than at

Siren To Wail, a nonprofit organization dedicated to prevention, treatment,
and public awareness of the Hepatitis C virus, will hold its third annual
benefit concert and silent auction to support the organization's programs on
November 22, 2002 at 7pm at Generations Hall in New Orleans. Titled "Once in
a Blue Moon," the concert will feature international Blues stars Dr. John,
Bobby Rush; Gatemouth Brown, Linda Hopkins, Irma Thomas, Eddie Bo, Cyril
Neville, Bo Dollis and The Wild Magnolias, Chubby Carrier and The Bayou
Swamp Band, Walter 'Wolfman' Washington, the Pinettes Brass Band, Old Man
Rivers Band, Timothea and The Blue Soul Express Band and other surprise
guests to be announced. This year's concert will be broadcast live to a
global audience over the Internet by WWOZ radio. Information on the
broadcast can be found at http://www.wwoz.org.
---
Outgoing mail is certified Virus Free.
Checked by AVG anti-virus system (http://www.grisoft.com).
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but having trouble findind the hep-c singles chat.
rex

Bayla, I would guess JHMO stands for Just My Humble Opinion, but then again that
is my opinion.
Hope that every thing is well with you.
Love, Light, and Blessings
Eric

RIGHT ON I think Ive met this dude about 100 times ROFLMAO

Did I mention I answer my email in reverse order??????

I know of two reasons for why I did not get into or try some of the trial
studies.
They put too much restriction on weather you can enter the study so you are
denied entering it! That was what happened one one I tried!! Or you take a
risk of just getting a placebo rather than the actual drug...............Dana
PeachStatePam <figment@...
Clinical Trials?
10/17/2002

Hey again Alfie and all. As you know I do alot of herbs. I have them posted
on this site. (Type herbs in the message area) I also try to do massage (when
I can afford it) and yoga (when I can afford it and feel up to it) and would do
accupuncture again (if I could afford it). I will not, however, do silver.
I have a friend here in Tallahassee who *makes his own* because of reading about
the various types and wants to be sure his is the *right type*. He looked
ashen and bluish and half dead for years and then finally stopped the silver and
looks much better. He does many other holistic things though. There are some
good suggestions in the Hep C Choices book and if you don't have a copy (come to
the Woodstock meeting and get one!) or go to www.hepcchallenge.org and you can
access all the info online. The two A's also help. Artichokes and avocadoes.
Juicing in general helps. Exercise in general helps. Taking one day at a
time is the most help :-) Good luck! and please dont' beat yourself up
about smoking today. CONGRATS on making it 16 days! You can do it again ;-)
Peace
Pam

thanks, and words like that are very much so needed. keep up your head high !
sheila

Never let the hep take your smiles away... i wont let it
happen...just some words of incouragement...

Why Don't Patients Enroll in Clinical Trials?
10/17/2002
Introduction
For more than 15 years, estimates suggest that only 2 to 3% of cancer patients
enroll in clinical trials. For other diseases and conditions, the numbers are
equally low. Such low numbers immediately raise a simple question: why? What's
the problem? Why don't more patients enter clinical trials? Or maybe 2% is the
right number? It's a simple question with a $700,000 answer-or the estimated
cost per day of delays in recruiting patients to clinical trials for a new drug.
Earlier this month, the editors of the leading journal Cancer decided to tackle
this question head-on. In most clinical trials, a clinical research associate
(CRA), rather than a physician, is responsible for talking with a patient and
explaining the risks and benefits of a trial. In two articles in Cancer on the
subject, researchers decide to ask these clinical trials recruiters themselves:
what makes enrolling patients in trials difficult?
Three Factors
The CRAs identified three types of factors that delayed trials: physician
factors, patient factors and, most importantly, system factors. Physician
factors relate largely to the fact that many physicians decide that a
particular patient would not be able to handle a trial-perhaps physically,
mentally or emotionally. Physicians often make this determination without
talking to the patient and regardless of whether or not a patient meets the
criteria laid out by the study. In other words, whether a physician "buys into,"
or believes in a study, turns out to be important.
Patient factors are also relevant. According to CRAs, patients' major concerns
are logistical: they worry about the extra clinic visits, tests and
questionnaires that accompany many trials. Some patients also worry whether or
not they will get the best treatment, or are just serving as "guinea pigs." Most
important for patients, however, is information: patients with the most
accurate and up-to-date information are the most likely to participate in
trials; those with the least information are the least willing to participate.
However, CRAs identified systems issues as the most important factor of all.
Systems issues are really just a reflection of the complex processes surrounding
general health care and clinical trial design in the United States. Insurance
coverage for a trial is one example of a systems issue. Will participation be
covered? How many phone calls will it take to find out? Other examples of
systems issues include the inability to schedule sufficient time with a
physician to discuss a trial, or the fact that some trials have tight time
frames and require patients to make enrollment decisions within a few days of
first learning about the trial.
It's All About Information
In an invited editorial response to these findings, Dr. Martin Tattersall, a
cancer researcher in Australia, acknowledged that both physicians and CRAs can
do a better job of explaining individual trials and the trials process to
patients. In the end, he warns, clinical trials need to avoid becoming too
corporatized, and he suggests that information, and patients' clear
understanding of clinical trial enrollment, will remain essential to increasing
the numbers of patients who participate.
References:
Eva Grunfeld, Louise Zitzelsberger, Marjorie Coristine, Faye Aspelund. Barriers
and facilitators to enrollment in cancer clinical trials: Qualitative study of
the perspectives of clinical research associates. Cancer
(Oct 2002) 95:1577-1583.
James R. Wright, Dauna Crooks, Peter M. Ellis, Deborah Mings, Tim J. Whelan.
Factors that influence the recruitment of patients to Phase III studies in
oncology: The perspective of the clinical research associate. Cancer (Oct 2002)
95:1584-1591.
Martin Tattersall. Cancer clinical trial recruitment: The emerging role and
perspectives of clinical research associates and data managers. Cancer (Oct
2002) 95:1397-1400.
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for a whole bunch of reasons! My pc crashed after a long reply to
this post. Maybe I can reply later when i calm down...........

Health - Reuters
'Rude' Doctor Barred from Practice in UK
LONDON (Reuters) - A British surgeon reported to have told a patient "you
have cancer, I have asthma, we all have to die some time" was struck off the
rolls Monday.
The General Medical Council said Dr. Mohannad Al-Fallouji's conduct "has
rightly been described as bizarre."
The surgeon, dubbed "a walking terror in a white coat" by the media, made
lewd remarks to female colleagues and occasionally groped them. He wrote nasty
and deliberately misleading references about junior doctors, the GMC said.
He also sent a flirtatious card to a young female patient, trying to
arrange a date without her parents finding out.
And he had a habit of informing patients they had cancer in a manner that
was "abrupt, insensitive, rude and below a reasonable professional standard,"
the council found.
He once informed a patient who had been told she may have gallstones
"words to the effect that she had a malignant cancer and that she should feel
privileged that she had time to prepare for her death and make a will."
"In view of your behavior toward patients and colleagues there are no
conditions which would enable the Committee to conclude that you could safely
resume practice," it said.

Note: forwarded message attached.

Well TC I know exactly what you mean I must have spent about $30,000.00 running
from reality wish I had it all back now LOL But good times bad times you know
Ive had my share

Well Nancy
Reality it's a little strange at first,but you get used to it.
I used to spend my days avoiding Reality,but it would always catch up
with me, sort of like trying to out run your shadow. Maybe i 'm
getting old but reality ain't so bad! Actually I wish to enjoy as
much Reality as I can! You see I lost many many years of Reality.
This is getting tough to explain. later, Reality is setting
in.~~~~~~~TC

Health - Reuters
Chinese Herbs for Cancer Care Put to 'Western' Test
NICE (Reuters Health) - Researchers in Hong Kong are putting Chinese
herbal medicines to the test using Western scientific methods, in the hope that
they can offer solid advice to the many cancer patients who consider using the
traditional remedies.
Many people take Chinese medicines, particularly to reduce chemotherapy
symptoms, said Dr. Tony Mok from the Chinese University of Hong Kong. "We just
don't know whether it is effective or safe to use at the same time as
conventional medicine," he said. "We tend, therefore, to advise against it--but
we should know for sure."
Chinese herbal medicine uses combinations of around 250 possible herbs to
restore an individual's internal harmony and fight illness. Because the approach
is so different from Western medicine, comparing them is difficult, Mok said.
"It is a different concept to conventional medicine, which is based on
'one drug for one disease,"' he explained.
At the European Society for Medical Oncology conference here, the doctor
described a study that looked at whether the capacity of Chinese herbs to reduce
the side effects of chemotherapy could be studied in so-called double-blind,
placebo-controlled trials. Such studies are considered the best way to determine
whether or not a treatment is effective.
These trials compare a treatment with an inactive substance, or placebo.
Only at the end of the study is it revealed--to doctors and patients
alike--which patients received the treatment and which the placebo.
The researchers studied 40 breast cancer (news - web sites) patients and
13 colon cancer patients who had not previously been treated with chemotherapy.
The participants were treated either with a powdered form of Chinese herbs
prescribed by a traditional herbalist, or a placebo powder.
Half of the treatments lasted at least 84 days and the Chinese remedies
included an average of 17 different herbs.
The trial has not finished, but early results suggest a small reduction in
nausea, vomiting and loss of appetite, Mok said.
"We have already demonstrated the feasibility of capturing the information
from clinical research on Chinese herbal medicine with this methodology," he
said. "And we could find something really useful that could point where we
should look for better treatment."

Michael,
Now does that mean I am too vuluable to put a price on?? LOL Well, just keep
letting me think that anyways!! I will be on cloud nine for a while with that
one!! Really not to good a phone sex anyways! Just turn red, studder allot and
hang up, so probably not worth the credit card number and you will probably need
that for that breakfast anyways!! LMAO I hope you are feeling better! I
pulled one of those, ("I went unconcious things again yesturday!") My woderful
daughter kept trying to get me out of it and kept asking what was wrong! Like I
knew?? Hmm! Really hate scaring her when I do that. Then she had a fight with
her boyfriend on the phone. Teens! And she just gets so many boyfriends. So
when I finally got coherent, sent the rest of the evening consoling her and then
he called and they made up!! LOL...Trying to get more stuff done around here for
the winter. Put the dogs out side by the Huge pile of Dirt. They love to climb
up and down and dig wholes in it. Think if they do that long enough they will
get it all spread out for me?? LOL ..........Hugs .............Dana
nevernilla <Nevernilla@...
sounds like you want me to put out AND buy breakfast. well if thats not a fine
Howdy do LOL BUT I have a steadfast rule, nobody on the internet gets my credit
card number not even me...or...me (gawd will I EVER get over that test ) BABY
I'd consider it an honor to buy you breakfast R/T prolly about right after new
years.
As far as being a paying customer goes I never pay for what is too valueable to
have a price. Where are you it is after 5 unutu...Love...Michael

Pam,
LOL, think I am going to get a butt cushion for this chair!! I think I finally
get caught up and then see that I did not reply to some. But you will be happy
to know after taking hours to figure out that whole photo album thing ( Of wich
I never did) LOL, I finally gave up and begged OUR GODDESS NANCY, That sweet
thing, to put my family zoo in a photo album. So now I am only missing one more
picture and that is of my other Kitty. It is in PS-Hep and I think she is going
to put it in NewHepSingles also when she has time. Okay, good luck!
...................Hugs............Dana
PeachStatePam <figment@...
dana........ so far behind with these
emails........ that not only is my butt asleep but the feeling has left my
left arm which is weird because it is the right one doing all the clicking
lol butt* we SHALL persevere!! LOL
Peace and Love,
Pam
"I have studied many philosophers and many cats. The wisdom of cats is
infinitely superior." - Hippolyte Taine

Michael huney, I only do that for the paying customers!!
LMAO................Dana
nevernilla <Nevernilla@...
all I get is conversation? Is it cause I do not have a credit card? CauseI am a
smartass? Cause Im not holding my mouth right? Im just sure we can rectify this
nagging problem itching away at the base of our relationship,was that too much
information?
Your friendly neibhorhood lactulose addict.
Michael

Hi Michael,
Glad to hear you are on an "even keel"......"my ship" appears to be
drifting ever near the rocks, but am constantly changing the set of the
sails.............
Oh, by the way...............hang onto that sense of humor........ :)
John(ny O)
In a message dated 10/19/2002 9:44:13 AM Pacific Daylight Time,
Nevernilla@... writes:

I have to go help with my sisters baby that is in the hospital.
I will be staying there after work for a few days.
We need all the prayers you can muster up for her , thanks,
LISA

Police Clear Errors On Watchdog's Record
Skip directly to the full story.
By ELLEN GEDALIUS egedalius@...
Published: Feb 7, 2006
TAMPA - Terry Neal, the government watchdog who was arrested more than a year
ago at a Tampa City Council meeting and charged with trespassing, discovered
some alarming information recently on his arrest report: He has HIV, hepatitis C
and a violent mental illness.
None of it, he says, is true.
"It is a fraudulent police report," Neal said.
Neal acknowledges he is bipolar and suffers from clinical depression, but he
said his illness is under control and he has no history of violence.
How could such information end up on his police report?
"So far nobody knows how," said Kirby Rainsberger, an assistant city attorney
and police department legal adviser. "That's why we removed it."
Neal was arrested in December 2004 when he refused to stop speaking during the
public comment portion of the council meeting. He was charged with disturbing a
public assembly and trespassing after a warning.
The case was settled when Neal agreed to enter a misdemeanor intervention
program.
Since his arrest, Neal obtained teaching certification, specializing in special
education. He applied for jobs with the Hillsborough County school district and
disclosed that he had been arrested.
Neal said he was interviewed several times but never received follow-up phone
calls. He wanted to know why. On a hunch, he went to the police station, pulled
up his police report and saw what it said. He couldn't believe it.
"I don't have HIV, and I don't have hepatitis C," Neal said.
Rainsberger could offer no explanation for the erroneous report. Maybe an
officer was working on two reports at once and mixed up information, he
suggested. Or maybe someone did something wrong on the computer.
"I think it's an extremely isolated case," Rainsberger said.
School district spokesman Stephen Hegarty confirmed that Neal applied for a
teaching position and disclosed he had been arrested.
The district checked to see why Neal was arrested, but Hegarty said he did not
know whether anyone read the full report and saw the erroneous information.
Regardless, in November Neal was cleared for hire by the district. Hegarty did
not know why Neal didn't receive follow-up phone calls or job offers from the
district.
http://news.tbo.com/news/metro/MGBD2SELDJE.html

There is not a single person in the world that has not had to
struggle with something or overcome difficulties. At some point
we all face challenges and even discouragement. You may be
facing them at this very moment, whether they are related to
money, health, children, family, or careers. It's all part of life
Try to recognize that obstacles are just part of your journey
Don't let them paralyze you. Instead, think of them as
milestones that once passed, will bring you closer to your goals
and full potential.
With every challenge passed, you are a little stronger, a little
wiser and a whole lot more experienced.
~Bayla~
SVRnWaiting
Every person is the creation of himself,
the image of his own thinking and believing.

Neil Young Kicks Out the Jams!
by Ron Jacobs
www.dissidentvoice.org
May 3, 2006
On April 30, 1970, Richard Nixon told the world that US forces were invading the
country of Cambodia. Within twenty-four hours of his announcement, the streets
of many cities and towns around the United States and elsewhere were filled with
angry protests against the US action. On May 4th National Guard troops opened
fire on protesters in Kent, Ohio killing four and wounding many others. Within
days, the rock band Crosby, Stills, Nash & Young released the angry single
"Ohio" about the murders at Kent.
A simple guitar lick opens the tune and then Neil begins singing: "Tin soldiers
and Nixon's coming/Four dead in Ohio..." The song is angry and direct. The
response was similar. While most stations played the tune, there were several
that refused. The single, which included the acoustic "Find The Cost of Freedom"
on its B-side, made it to the number 14 position on the charts. One of the
harshest reactions to the song occurred at the European studios of Armed Forces
Network (AFN) -- the radio network heard by US military and their dependents
throughout Europe. After a night DJ played the tune, he was removed from his
deejay position and the song was never heard again on AFN Europe that summer. In
addition, it was impossible to find at Post Exchanges in Germany.
Anyhow, Neil Young has done it again. A week or so ago, he went into the studio
with the same sense of urgency that the producers of the "Ohio" single recall to
record a new antiwar work called /Living With War/. The CD should be in stores
by May 15, 2006. As a favor to fans and other interested folks, Young's record
company released it as streaming audition on his website April 28th. The first
fuzzy bass tones came out of my speakers a little after 7 AM. Then came Neil
singing "Won't need no?/Won't need no stinkin' war... after the garden is
gone..." That ever-so-recognizable Silvertoney sound that Young makes with his
electric guitar plays a melodic arpeggio in between the and behind the lyrics.
Lyrics that appear at first to be as fuzzy in their meaning as the bass that is
part of Young's signature electric sound, but turn out to be as clear as his
ringing guitar licks.
If this were an a vinyl album, I would write about what appears next on the
never-ending groove, but I'll just call it a tune, not knowing any lyrical way
to describe the series of digital commands that technology uses now to record
music. The song is a simple melody that describes our lives here in the mother
country (or is it the Fatherland). You know -- watching the flat screen TV and
just living with war everyday. The body counts and the wounded boy or girl next
door -- just living with war. That's the price we pay for that overpriced flat
screen TV and the right to buy it at Costco. It's not a cynical song and it
isn't resigned, either. It's stating a tragic fact. Young is trying to get us
all to do something to stop it.
Don't need no more lies. That's the refrain of Young's next melody.
Titled "The Restless Consumer," the song opens with the observation that we
can't see those flag-draped coffins. Why? Because the spin machine doesn't want
us to. Like everything else in this latest war (that's the war on terror, not
just the one in Iraq), everything we hear is just another lie. Terrorists and
terror alerts. WMD and democracy. Don't need no more lies. Will the restless
consumer get tired of the lies and do something about it? That's what Young
seems to be asking here.
"Back in the days of Shock and Awe." So begins song number four: "Shock and
Awe." It's a lament for the dead. It's a lament for the nation's dead soul. It's
a wailing at the wake of so many Iraqi children. The music here is defined by
the trumpet that plays the melody. A melody that could be the tune of one of
those rhymes children make up when they're skipping rope or playing tag.
Curtis Mayfield once titled an album of his Back In the World. The "World" is
what GIs called the States when they were overseas, especially in a war zone.
Neil's next song is titled "Families". Family values that ring true, like when a
soldier writes that they're coming back to you. It's another part of war that
only soldiers and their families know. Longing and wondering. Children unseen
and growing old without their parent. Some born while the parent dies overseas
in a war that has no meaning. When your family is stateside, that's where the
world is.
"Do you think that you believe in yours/More than they do theirs now?" That's a
lyric from the song "Flags of Freedom." Flags on Main Street and sons going off
to war. The tune is borrowed from Bob Dylan's "Chimes of Freedom" but the hope
implicit in Dylan's song are not here. All that's left is the cynical world that
Dylan hoped to overcome. The world that we all hoped to overcome. Is there still
an answer blowin' in the wind?
The next song is the single. It is the clarion bell. It is the first chime of
freedom. Impeach the President. That's what Neil titles his next tune. It begins
with a trumpet playing Taps. Nothing held back. It's a call to arms from a poet
to a pretender. Get the sonuvabitch out of there. Let's impeach the president...
for lying us into war. Let's impeach the president... for spying on us all.
Let's impeach the president for hijacking our religion... and using it to get
elected. This is the song that got the attention of FoxNews --who now controls
the Information Bureau of the great leader. The Italians strung up Mussolini and
then told each other, kick him until you're sure he's dead. No one's calling for
that, but there's plenty calling for impeachment. It's time to bring him down.
And make sure we take Cheney with him. Otherwise it's no victory.
Then what? What if we did get rid of Bush and Cheney? Who rules? Neil knew
better than to leave us hanging. "Lookin' For a Leader" is the next song. He
runs through a litany of names and rejects them all. Maybe Obama -- no I guess
not. Maybe Colin Powell, he could make up for the lies he told? The ones that
helped bring us to where we are. Never mind. This is the weakest song on the
album politically, but only because Young names some names. He's right about the
need for a new direction, but the names he lists are not the ones to look at.
He's right when he says that person is walking among us. He's right when he says
that leader needs the great spirit on their side. We have sunk into the darkness
that Hunter S. Thompson described so well when he was alive. The abyss of fear
and loathing. Of corruption and death. Where good is evil and evil is placed on
the altar in the temple of the powerful.
This past December a very good friend of mine died in a tragic fire. He was 53.
We had just got back together after a decade or so of being in touch only rarely
and then via the phone and US mail. My buddy was a Navy vet from the Vietnam
period. He joined the Navy out of high school so that he wouldn't get drafted
into the Army (his lottery number was sure to get called that year and the war
was raging). He spent a year and a half off the coast of southern Vietnam. While
on the USS JFK carrier, he contracted Hepatitis C from some chemicals he worked
with. At least that's what the VA doctors told him. The Hep C was only
exacerbated by the lifestyle he temporarily assumed when he came back. A
lifestyle that many vets undertook for some period of their return -- if only to
forget what they saw and did. When I saw him a few weeks before he died, we
talked about music, books, old friends, and the world in general. Our plan was
to go to some shows this summer. Then the fire struck. I only tell you this
because the second-to-last song on /Living With War/ is about a friend of Neil's
who died in Vietnam. It's this man and all the other vets of US wars of Empire
that are the muse for this album. Their deaths are the inspiration for Neil's
angry music and pointed lyrics. Men and women who underneath it all were
believers in the ideals for which they were told they were fighting. Ideals that
look like nothing but frickin' lies. Many of those men didn't physically die in
Vietnam, but they died there just the same.
Can we get those ideals back? Neil, the eternal optimist believes we can. that's
why he ends the album with "America the Beautiful." He is much more of a
believer than me, but more likely closer to the majority of the residents of
this country. The music on this album is classic Neil Young. Electric but not
flashy. Driving rock that makes you sing. If I drove a car, this is the kind of
music I would want in my player as I drove on the Interstate across the land.
Short songs that you know will be extended and tear up the aisles when they're
performed live this summer when Neil goes on tour when Crosby, Stills, Nash &
Young reform for their Freedom of Speech in 2006 tour.
This is more than a rock album. It's a call to arms. Listen! I wonder if AFN
will play it. Or Clear Channel.
Ron Jacobs is an anti-imperialist activist and writer. He is the author of The
Way the Wind Blew: A History of the Weather Underground (Verso 1997).
http://www.dissidentvoice.org/May06/Jacobs03.htm

Eminent Scientist Receives $100,000 Lemelson-MIT Lifetime Achievement Award; Dr.
Sidney Pestka Recognized for Groundbreaking Research on Anti-Viral Treatments
CHICAGO--(BUSINESS WIRE)--May 3, 2006--Dr. Sidney Pestka, chairman of the
Department of Molecular Genetics, Microbiology and Immunology at the
UMDNJ-Robert Wood Johnson Medical School, will receive the $100,000 Lemelson-MIT
Lifetime Achievement Award for his seminal work on interferons. This work led to
groundbreaking treatments for chronic hepatitis B and C, multiple sclerosis and
cancers. The annual award, which recognizes a remarkable individual for his or
her life-long commitment to improving society through invention, will be given
tonight at a private ceremony at the Museum of Contemporary Art Chicago.
"Dr. Pestka's interferon discoveries and subsequent inventions have made a
profound impact on medicine and health care," said Merton Flemings, director of
the Lemelson-MIT Program, which gives the annual award. "His work has opened
doors to new treatments for millions of people who suffer from devastating
diseases and it has fueled the multi-billion dollar biotherapeutics market."
Dr. Harold L. Paz, former Dean of Robert Wood Johnson Medical School in
Piscataway, N.J., considers Pestka's work to be "a critical catalyst in the
development of the biotechnology industry."
In the Beginning
Alick Isaacs and Jean Lindenmann of the National Institute for Medical Research
in London discovered interferons in 1957, the year Pestka earned his
undergraduate degree from Princeton University. They observed that when a virus
attacked chicken cells, the cells secreted a protein. Isaacs and Lindenmann
called this protein interferon.
Years later, along with other scientists, they demonstrated that human cells
also release interferons when they are infected with a virus. The interferons
then migrate to other parts of the body and protect neighboring healthy cells
from the viral infection.
"The great promise of interferon as an antiviral agent was evident from the
moment of its discovery," said Pestka. But little was understood about
interferons at the time, especially how to produce them in the quantities and
quality needed to manufacture effective therapies.
A Purifying Invention
Beginning in 1969, Pestka engrossed himself in the study of interferons at the
Roche Institute of Molecular Biology in Nutley, New Jersey. Using his colleague
Stan Stein's method to measure proteins, Pestka invented a system called reverse
phase high-performance liquid chromatography (RP-HPLC) for protein purification,
to isolate and purify interferon proteins. Today, this innovative method for
separating and analyzing proteins is used in laboratories all over the world.
Pestka's laboratory was the first to purify interferons-alpha and beta, which
resulted in his discovery that human alpha-interferons are a family of 12
proteins, not just one as scientists originally thought. This discovery laid the
groundwork for a better understanding of the activities and functions of
interferons. At that time, only small quantities of crude preparations of
interferons were used, which made it hard to discern the activity for which they
were responsible.
Once purified interferon was available, its activities could be determined and
its use as a treatment for viral diseases and cancers was identified.
Purification also facilitated Food & Drug Administration approval since the
agency requires a defined and purified product before clearing it for human use.
In addition to purifying interferons, Pestka also developed an innovative
technology to clone alpha and beta interferons. Unlike other cloning techniques,
Pestka's method did not require knowledge of protein, gene or messenger RNA
(mRNA) sequences. Instead, he translated mRNA into active proteins that could be
measured by their unique activities. This invention created new capabilities for
scientists to clone interferons and other proteins without the need to know
their structure.
Global Impact
As a result of Pestka's ability to isolate, purify and clone interferons, he
produced recombinant interferon-alpha for clinical trials nearly a full year
before anyone else. In 1986, the FDA approved interferon-alpha for use in humans
to treat hairy cell leukemia. It was later approved for the treatment of chronic
hepatitis B and C, and cancers such as malignant melanoma, follicular lymphoma,
some leukemias and AIDS-related Kaposi's sarcoma.
Pestka's patented inventions are the foundation of a $6 billion global market
for interferon biotherapeutics, which provide life-saving treatments for
millions of people. For instance, there are more than 600 million people in the
world with hepatitis B and C who could potentially be treated with interferon
therapies.
But according to Pestka, the best is yet to come. "Interferons have not yet been
used to their full capacity," he said. "We still have to develop new ways to use
them and treat viral diseases, cancers and other illneses."
In 1990, Pestka founded Pestka Biomedical Laboratories (PBL) to continue his
research on antiviral compounds and provide high-quality interferons to the
research community. PBL (http://www.pblbio.com) is the only company that
supplies all the human interferons to investigators worldwide. Pestka and his
team plan to utilize interferons to develop new treatments for many diseases,
especially for cancer and viral diseases. They have also developed and patented
ultra interferons(TM), which are 20 to 30 times more potent than current
interferon drugs. A major goal is to deliver these interferons directly to tumor
sites to minimize the toxic side effects of systemic administration.
The Next Generation
In addition to his work as founder and chief scientific officer at Pestka
Biomedical Laboratories, Pestka continues to pass on his knowledge by teaching
classes and chairing the Department of Molecular Genetics, Microbiology and
Immunology at Robert Wood Johnson Medical School. Over the past 35 years he has
trained numerous postdoctoral fellows, visiting scientists and pre-doctoral
students from 20 countries and five continents.
The Lemelson-MIT Program will also award James Fergason, a pioneer in the field
of liquid crystal displays, with the $500,000 Lemelson-MIT Prize at tonight's
ceremony.
ABOUT THE LEMELSON-MIT PROGRAM
The Lemelson-MIT Program aims to enable and inspire young people to pursue
creative lives and careers. It particularly encourages young people to engage in
invention and to pursue sustainable new solutions to real world problems. It
accomplishes this mission through outreach activities and annual awards,
including the $500,000 Lemelson-MIT Prize, the largest single cash prize in the
United States for invention, and the $100,000 Lemelson-MIT Lifetime Achievement
Award, which recognizes the nation's most talented inventors and innovators, and
promotes them as living role models to encourage future generations to follow
their examples.
Jerome H. Lemelson, one of the world's most prolific inventors, and his wife
Dorothy founded the Lemelson-MIT Program at the Massachusetts Institute of
Technology in 1994. It is funded by The Lemelson Foundation, a private
philanthropy that celebrates and supports inventors and entrepreneurs in order
to strengthen social and economic life. More information is online at
http://web.mit.edu/invent/.
UMDNJ-ROBERT WOOD JOHNSON MEDICAL SCHOOL
As one of the nation's leading comprehensive medical schools, UMDNJ-Robert Wood
Johnson Medical School (http://rwjms.umdnj.edu), with campuses in New Brunswick,
Piscataway and Camden, is dedicated to the pursuit of excellence in education,
research, health care delivery and the promotion of community health for the
residents of New Jersey. With 2,400 full-time and volunteer faculty, the medical
school maintains educational programs at the undergraduate, graduate and
postgraduate levels for more than 1,500 students, as well as continuing
education courses for health care professionals and community education
programs. The Medical School also hosts 85 centers and institutes; among them
are The Cancer Institute of New Jersey, an institute that Pestka initiated when
he arrived at RWJMS in 1986 and where he is a program director.
http://home.businesswire.com/portal/site/google/index.jsp?ndmViewId=news_view&ne\
wsId=20060503005034&newsLang=en

May 10 is Hep C Awareness Day: Hunt for a Vaccine is Under Way
Newswise - Human clinical trials involving investigational vaccines to prevent
Hepatitis C are rare. In the fall of 2003 there was a first-ever study at Saint
Louis University Center for Vaccine Development, and an earlier small study at
Johns Hopkins School of Medicine.
Now a new trial -- much larger than these two earlier studies -- is about to
start at Saint Louis University. Two hundred volunteers are needed, and SLU is
the only site in the United States conducting this study.
"Sixteen years ago, the hepatitis C virus had not even been identified and now
there are an estimated 170 million people around the world infected." said
Sharon Frey, M.D., professor of internal medicine in the division of infectious
disease at Saint Louis University School of Medicine. "It is critical that we
develop a vaccine to combat this growing health problem."
The purpose of this research is to study the safety and effectiveness of the
Chiron Corp.'s investigational hepatitis vaccine. Although the Chiron vaccine
has been given to people in previous studies, this is the first time the vaccine
will be tested in humans with a different "adjuvant." (A vaccine adjuvant is a
chemical designed to help the body make a better response to vaccines.)
Volunteers will be randomly assigned to receive one of the nine different
combinations of hepatitis C virus vaccine and adjuvant.
"Officials at the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention believe that
approximately 40,000 new cases of hepatitis C infections occur every year," Frey
said, "therefore a vaccine to prevent the infection would be an important
breakthrough in controlling the spread of the hepatitis C virus."
The study is being conducted by Saint Louis University's Center for Vaccine
Development (led by the division of infectious diseases and immunology) in
collaboration with Saint Louis University Liver Center (led by the school's
division of gastroenterology and hepatology). This research is sponsored by the
National Institutes of Health and Chiron Corp.
Hepatitis C virus is a blood-borne infection that causes approximately 10,000
deaths annually and is responsible for almost half of the 4,000 liver
transplants each year. The CDC estimates medical and work-loss costs for
hepatitis C at more than $600 million annually, excluding the costs of
transplantation. It is believed that 2.7 million Americans have chronic
infection with this virus.
Potential volunteers in this study should call the Saint Louis University Center
for Vaccine Development at 314-977-6333 or email vaccine@....
Established in 1836, Saint Louis University School of Medicine has the
distinction of awarding the first M.D. west of the Mississippi River. Saint
Louis University School of Medicine is a pioneer in geriatric medicine, organ
transplantation, chronic disease prevention, cardiovascular disease,
neurosciences and vaccine research, among others. The School of Medicine trains
physicians and biomedical scientists, conducts medical research and provides
health services on a local, national and international level.
http://www.newswise.com/articles/view/520185/

well i think i am done with these tests now LOL i came out bitchy on
the bitch test, bastardly on the bastard test and now insane on the insanity
test and since we ALL know that NONE of that is true i think i wil quit
LOL now WHO said that?? are you really out to get me?? i wasn't
running with the scissors i swear!!
Peace and Love,
Pam
"I have studied many philosophers and many cats. The wisdom of cats is
infinitely superior." - Hippolyte Taine

Good Info.Thanks
Concerning Hydrogen Peroxide. I had two "growths" (?)on my tongue that had to
be cut out awhile back and sent for biopsy. I was concerned about the incisions
being made getting infected ( I get Staph at a drop of the hat).. and said I
could use hydrogen peroxide as a mouth wash.
It was adamantly confirmed that hydrogen peroxide kills the good germs too,
and don't use it for a FIX ALL germ killer. It;s great to use if you road rash
or something, but regular use is definitely not recommended.
Oh... the results were benign and the growths were probably due to biting my
tongue repeatedly, not allowing the (sores) to heal.
What's fer dinner???
deliman
nsolitude <cascades91@...
This is a simple news item but some very interesting concerns are
mentioned:
Vitamin Mania: The Truth about Antioxidants
Christopher Wanjek
LiveScience's Bad Medicine Columnist
LiveScience.com
Tue May 2, 1:00 PM ET
Studies showing the negative or null effects of vitamins supplements
are so common that it is surprising doctors still find these studies
to be surprising. Vitamins are not as simple as A-B-C.
The latest bit of confusion appears in the April 27 issue of the
New England Journal of Medicine. Doctors in Australia provided nearly
1,900 pregnant women with either supplements of vitamins C and E or a
placebo to see whether the vitamins would lower the risk of
developing high blood pressure during pregnancy. It didn't work.
Surprisingly, the doctors said, the vitamin group had a slightly
higher rate of high blood pressure compared to the placebo group.
We love our vitamins
The levels of vitamins C and E were greater than those found in an
ordinary multivitamin tablet1,000 milligrams of C and 400 IU of E,
or roughly 10 and 20 times the recommended daily allowance. In an
editorial accompanying the study, doctors said that supplements at
these levels should not be prescribed routinely.
But we love our vitamins.
Americans spend about $2 billion a year on vitamins C and E, along
with beta carotene (a precursor of vitamin A) and selenium, according
to Nutrition Business Journal. These are the most popular
antioxidants, a class of chemicals said to cure just about
everything.
The trouble is, science can't seem to support the bad movie script
created by the vitamin supplement industry.
No simple movie plot...
Here's the plot, a battle between good and evil: Rogue chemicals
called free radicals roam about the body like brazen street punks,
smashing cellular walls and roughing up innocent DNA molecules,
causing cancers and the diseases of middle- and old-age. Their
flagrant disregard for the law would continue unchecked if it weren't
for swashbuckling antioxidants swooping in on the wings of vitamin
supplements, disarming the free radicals of their menacing electrons
and converting them into respectable molecular citizens.
But the body, it seems, is not governed by a Hollywood "B" script.
Free radicals are as good as they are bad, and too many antioxidants
may do the body harm.
It is true that antioxidants serve as sort of a rust protector for
the body, stopping a process called oxidation. Important molecules in
the body, such as those that form artery walls, become oxidized when
they lose an electron. Once oxidized, they become unstable and easily
break apart.
The culprit, without a doubt, is the free radical.
Free to destroy
Free radicals are highly reactive molecules or single atoms with
unpaired electrons looking for a mate. So they steal an electron from
the first thing they encounter, perhaps a cell wall or DNA. As free-
radical damage mounts, cells can no longer perform properly. Disease
sets in. An excess of free radicals has been cited in cardiovascular
disease, Alzheimer's disease, Parkinson's disease and cancer.
Aging itself has been defined as a gradual accumulation of free-
radical damage.
Yet free radicals are necessary for life. The body's ability to turn
air and food into chemical energy depends on a chain reaction of free
radicals. Free radicals are also a crucial part of the immune system,
floating through the veins and attacking foreign invaders.
Hydrogen peroxide is a prime example of a free radical. Your blood
actually contains trace amounts of hydrogen peroxide, an internal
germ fighter. In fact, you could not fight bacteria without free
radicals.
Good luck
How antioxidants work is an utter mystery, which explains the
contradicting results of very large and well-conducted studies in the
past decade showing, for example, that vitamin E slowed the progress
of coronary artery disease but increased the risk of a heart attack.
One thing that studies do reveal is that a diet rich in antioxidants,
as opposed to supplements, is associated with lower rates of cancer
and circulatory disease. Richard Veech of the National Institute on
Alcohol Abuse and Alcoholism, whom I interviewed a few years ago,
sums it up best, I think:
"People don't want to exercise," he said. "They don't want to eat
healthy food. They don't want to stop drinking; they don't want to
stop smoking; they don't want to stop having dangerous sex. They want
to take a pill. Well, good luck."
Christopher Wanjek is the author of the books "Bad Medicine"
and "Food At Work." Got a question about Bad Medicine? Email Wanjek.
If it's really bad, he just might answer it in a future column. Bad
Medicine appears each Tuesday on LIveScience.
SOURCE URL:

Hey Michael
I was in Canada or someplace when you were here and going to leave
or something. Whatever I am very glad you are here.~~~~~~~~TC

you have sufficient deterioration in your liver to be placed on the
transplant list. Or you could (as I did) have an upper gi bleed and
for that they will place you on the list also, or i feel that if you
went to your GI doc and pitched a royal bitch the doc just might get
tired of it and put you on. LOL My advice to you is to find a way to
get on the list as each year 2,000 people die who are on that list
and waiting for a donor organ to be available for them,seniority
somehow figures into it too! So the bottom line goes like this, find
a way to get on the list and be ready to be poked prodded and have
the most unmentionable tests performed on you. Be sure that these
people will leave no part untouched in there search to find a medical
problem to disqualify you, donor organs are in very short supply and
they try to make sure that they do not waste them on people who will
just die of something else anyway. I hope Ive scared the hell out of
you because they will test you in other ways too, they will make the
transplant procedure the only thing in your life. Post transplant
recovery depends on YOU and how tough and committed you are to
it.Just because you get on the list does not mean you will stay there
either. I have just been taken off for the third time so they can do
additional testing and then have another debate about whether I am a
viable candidate for the procedure. I think what is alot of it is
that they are seeing if I am tough enough and flexable enough to
adhere to their protocal,as I will need to be like that to make it
through the coming ordeal. So in closing I'll say you might as well
just give up and give me a better shot at having an organ available.
LOL ya got to be tough Cindy but dont forget to have a lot of good
laughs along the way. wishing you the best...Michael

AHAHAHAAAAAAAAAA...
Loud and F*^#$^*% clear TC... you crack me up.
Grace

The following items have been posted to www.hcvadvocate.org:
Medical Writers' Circle:
Future Therapies for Hepatitis C by Robert Gish, MD.
In this article Dr. Gish discusses the many new drugs that have progressed
through at least phase II studies to treat hepatitis C including new types of
interferon, HCV protease inhibitors, ribavirin like drugs, and more. Included
in the article is an explanation of the hepatitis C life cycle which includes a
description of how HCV infects liver cells as well as areas of future research
on drugs to inhibit the replication process.
http://www.hcvadvocate.org/hcsp/articles/Future_therapies.html
HCV ADVOCATE WEEKLY NEWS REVIEW:
A Review of HCV, HBV and HIV/HCV Coinfection Related News and Highlights - Week
Ending: February 4th, 2006
http://www.hcvadvocate.org/news/newsRev/2006/NewsRev-138.html
This Issue:
. Tattooed Donors No Longer Have to Wait
. Hope of Liver Cancer Blood Test
. Long-Term Lamivudine Therapy for Children with Hep B
. Schering-Plough Reports FDA Grants Fast Track Designation to Oral HCV Protease
Inhibitor SCH 503034
. Woman Gets Hepatitis C After Blood Transfusions
. U.S. FDA Approves Cangene's Anti-Hepatitis B Product
. Intercell's Hepatitis C Vaccine Meets Success Criteria for Further Development
- Route and Frequency of Administration Optimized
. Hospitals Face Hepatitis C Mix-Up Probe
. UAB Liver Center Ramps Up Programs Against Viral Hepatitis
. Sharing Blood Lancing Devices Could Result in Transmission of Blood-Borne
Diseases
. Hepatitis B Genotype Linked to Degree of Liver Damage in HIV-Positive Patients
. Antifungal Prophylaxis in Low-Risk Liver Transplant Patients
. Nabi Biopharmaceuticals Announces U.S. Fast Track Designation for Civacir to
Prevent Hepatitis C Re-infection in Liver Transplants
. Kerr Again Rejects Inquiry Into Transfusion Hepatitis Infection
. Preventive Treatment Helps Avoid Hepatitis B Relapse During Chemotherapy
. Wissinoming Man Proves You Can Battle and Survive Hepatitis C
. Hepatitis C Recurs Rapidly After Liver Transplant
. Vertex, Human Genome Sciences Seen Posting More Losses
. Noninvasive Alternative to Upper Endoscopy for Esophageal Varices
. Method for Estimating Deaths on Liver Transplant Waiting List
**We are also updating many of our fact sheets:
http://www.hcvadvocate.org/hepatitis/factsheets.asp

I am laughing so hard right now, I'm sure the neighbors will call the
authorities! Just that first page of questions and it only gets
funnier...
I scored a 24% insane (so... I lied and so did I, so what?)
"Look at you, so rational and normal. Your head's screwed on so tight
you'd break a guillotine. Yes, lucky you, you who glide through the
chaos of the world like the pope in his popemobile. While the rest of
us are barking at imaginary voices and foaming at the mouth, your
mind is sitting on a tuffet eating curds and whey. CURDS AND WHEY! Do
you hear me?!? Because I can hear me! THE GRANITE MONKEY MUST BE
PORKED! Bok!"
Too funny Nancy.

LOL....Well, I KNEW you're head was screwed on right! :-) Love that "your
mind is sitting on a tuffet..." LOL (Course some of the questions just
didn't have that "in-between" answer that would have been the most
appropriate for me :-)
The Sex Test has the same problem...not enough choices...or is it just not
the right choices...Oh, and BTW...some of the questions have write-in
answers (but I don't think it knows what to do with answers like "ALL of
Them" and "Who the Hell's Counting"...LOL!)
But...I'm not EVEN gonna post my score on THAT one! :-)
Love ya,
Nancy

Now you are both trying to confuse me on purpose!! I thought I was reading my
mail in the right order and my butt is going numb getting to the finish line!!!
LMAO...................Dana
P.S. I have to go get this book, since sometime I am diagnosed with both
according to what Specialist I see of course!!! LOL
PeachStatePam <figment@...
Feeling Bad- The Dilemma of Having an Invisible Illness
By Susan Milstrey Wells
WebMD Columnist
Admitting that we don't feel well takes a great deal of courage. We live in a
society that prizes beauty, strength, and productivity, and there is a great
deal of shame and self-blame that comes with not living up to that ideal. More
often than not, when someone asks us how we are, we're likely to say "just fine"
and change the subject.
Our discomfort is compounded when our symptoms are largely invisible. When Jeri,
herself chronically ill, is not feeling well, she often gets the rash on her
face that is characteristic of lupus. "I get nice rosy cheeks and I do look
better," Jeri says. "I tell people I feel awful, and they say, 'You look
wonderful.'"
Looking good and feeling bad creates a number of dilemmas for those of us with
chronic, invisible illnesses. How much and to whom do we tell that we are sick?
What do we say when someone asks us how we are, or
tells us how great we look?
At one point in my journey of chronic illness, I would likely have said there
was a one-size-fits-all answer to these questions, and it would have been to
tell everyone you know everything you know, and make sure they understand it.
But whether it's a growing sense of maturity about my illness or a decreasing
lack of energy, or some fateful convergence of the two, I no longer feel
compelled to explain myself to people I meet on the street. When we accept the
fact that we're sick, it's less
important that everyone else does, too.
Certainly, those relationships that are most important to us require special
care and attention, and in my April column, I'll share some tips for improving
communication and strengthening our ties to spouses,
parents, children, and best friends. In the balance of this column, I'll share
my current thinking about how much, or how little, to reveal in the checkout
line at the grocery store, during coffee hour at church, or around the water
cooler at the office.
To Tell or Not to Tell
With people we have known for a long time, it can be hard to hide a change in
our health or unnecessary to do so. But with newer friends or passing
acquaintances, we sometimes struggle with the question of when to say we have a
chronic illness and how much detail to reveal. On the one hand, we may feel that
if we withhold information, we won't be able to develop a deeper relationship.
But on the other hand, we have very
little way of knowing how someone will respond to the reality that we're sick.
Each time I told someone I was writing a book about chronic illness and they
wanted to know why I was interested in the topic, I held my breath. When I admit
that I have health problems, I feel as if I am walking out
on a limb that might break without warning. I've been pleasantly surprised to
discover that by acknowledging my own limitations, I've opened the door for
others to share their health problems, or those of their relatives or friends.
You'd be amazed at how many of us are dealing, rather successfully, with ongoing
health problems!
In general, however, I think how much we reveal depends on the nature of the
relationship; my best friend knows the intimate details of my health problems,
but casual acquaintances may only know that I rarely make
evening commitments. When I tell business associates that I have chronic health
problems, I do so in the broadest of terms, and I try to sound as healthy as I
can when I say it! While we might feel that the more sick
we seem, the more sympathy and respect we'll command, I think it really works
the other way around. I've never had a client question me when I state simply,
and without further explanation, that I choose to limit
long-distance travel because of health problems. Yet I know instinctively that
they don't want to hear about my aches and pains.
Energy and Face-Saving Tips
I hope that some of the following specific tips, garnered both from my own
experience and from what others tell me, will help you through some of the
awkward situations we all encounter.
Most of us have developed a standard answer to the question, "How are you?"; and
I don't think we're being dishonest to use it in social situations. My response,
"Hanging in there," some days translates to "by the skin of my teeth," but it
works on good days, as well. When someone tells you that you look great, even
though you feel awful, a simple and heartfelt "thank you" is always an
appropriate response. After all, looking good while feeling bad takes talent!
When someone says that it's
hard to believe you're sick, you might acknowledge that even you struggle with
the disparity between how you feel and how you look. Try saying something like,
"Yes, it's even hard for me to understand how I can feel so bad when I look so
well." This disarms your critics and
creates common ground. If you are no longer working because of health problems,
and someone asks you what you do, try borrowing a page from Mirielle, who has
fibromyalgia. "As little as I can," is her cheery
response. Above all, save the limited energy you have to help those who are most
important to you understand how you feel. When people tell Angela, who has
multiple sclerosis, that she sleeps too much, her reaction depends on the
source. To those friends she thinks will
understand, she explains why she takes a nap everyday. "For the most part,"
Angela says, "I just laugh it off and say that some of us are lazier than
others."
Susan Milstrey Wells is author of "A Delicate Balance: Living Successfully with
Chronic Illness."

Nancy,
Think I need a whole list of answers to choose from! People think I am lazy
already and assume I am on welfare because I look young and Healthy. I tried to
say I was independently wealthy or I do phone sex! But that just has not worked
out to well!! LMAO... So where do I get this book??................Dana
Nancy <NancyE1954@...
health problems, and someone
asks you what you do, try borrowing a page from Mirielle, who has
fibromyalgia. "As little as I can," ...
Despite my gift for clever quips (A lot of people just don't "GET" the
"Goddess" response :-), that particular question has still been the one to
stump me...I REALLY like this one and am "making it my own" from now on!
Thanks Pammie! :-)

OMG...Gracie, what have you done?!!
I'm lost in TheSpark.Com and can't find my way out!!!
(BTW...I'm only 38% insane! "Partly holding it together, partly on the
edgeyou're like a pig on a highwire, cute and stinky but a potential danger
to yourself and others. Most people think you have a "dark side," and
they're not referring to the part of you that's in the shade on a sunny day.
You're definitely not a vegetarian, except maybe when you're eating. You
like leafy meats. Do not run with scissors while operating heavy
donkeys."....Hmmmm, how did They know I like to run with scissors?...LOL)
Well...anybody else? http://test.thespark.com/sanitytest/
Love,
Nancy (Gotta go take the Sex Test now! :-)

..."If you are no longer working because of health problems, and someone
asks you what you do, try borrowing a page from Mirielle, who has
fibromyalgia. "As little as I can," ...
Despite my gift for clever quips (A lot of people just don't "GET" the
"Goddess" response :-), that particular question has still been the one to
stump me...I REALLY like this one and am "making it my own" from now on!
Thanks Pammie! :-)

Pam,
LOL, I know someone else that does their mail backwards!!! I just start where I
left off, or go through them all, delete what I am not going to reply to, then
go back, and FORGET, where I left off!!! LMAO ...........................Dana
PeachStatePam <figment@...
the link......... I had run across the
story on another site and posted it already but couldn't find a link........
so then I had to go find another story with a link just to verify it LOL
If I wasn't doing my mail backwards I would have already seen this.........
but I was so I didn't so there :-) ROFLOL
Peace and Love,
Pam
"I have studied many philosophers and many cats. The wisdom of cats is
infinitely superior." - Hippolyte Taine

45 to 50 MILLION dollars..."Royalty" for what...about one year?!
(Cheez...and here I get upset over not having 50 BUCKS to buy my son some
clothes for school...seems so trivial in comparison, eh?)

John O,
Thank you for the Vibes and Karma!! Think I am going to need Millions of those
to get things straightened out!!! As you can see, I have still been in a
non-posting computer mood!! LOL Got the Bronco back, was 'ONLY" 1003.00
Dollars!!! Then took the Mustang in. That Brake switch that I was so proud I
put in, must of got the wires crossed, put it in upside down, whatever! Instead
of brake lights staying on, they would not come on! "Must not be a good
mechanic!" Anyways, that is only going to "ONLY" cost me 700.00 dollars to get
in shape!! LOL I am trying to get myself in gear for if and when I go on
treatment, "AGAIN", and have a way for my daughter to get around, if I can't
keep up with her while being "SICK", (Hopefully not), but have not had good
reactions to treatment so far!! And need to get the house in shape and have
some kind of fence or something for my wonderful puppies so it will be easier to
let them in and out. I have chains for them now, but on treatment and through
the winter, it will be easier to let them romp and play in the snow all together
rather than one at a time. So, yes, It has been very busy. "And I am VERY
SLOW!! Okay, keep sending all them good vibes and
karma................................Dana
ostra17@... wrote:Hi Dana,
Great to hear from you again......I can see why you are not exactly
ecstatic about things right now.....I am sending some "good vibes" around the
globe to you so that things will smoooooooooth out for you. sort of a karma
thing. :) Johnny OIn a message dated 10/17/2002 9:26:53 AM Pacific
Daylight Time, spiria_spirit@... writes:

Cute test Grace I scored.......Hell Im not gonna tell that LOL See ya
Grace...Michael

Dear Cindy your GI doc or Hepatologist is the will determine when you have
sufficient deterioration in your liver to be placed on the transplant list. Or
you could (as I did) have an upper gi bleed and for that they will place you on
the list also, or i feel that if you went to your GI doc and pitched a royal
bitch the doc just might get tired of it and put you on. LOL My advice to you is
to find a way to get on the list as each year 2,000 people die who are on that
list and waiting for a donor organ to be available for them,seniority somehow
figures into it too! So the bottom line goes like this, find a way to get on the
list and be ready to be poked prodded and have the most unmentionable tests
performed on you. Be sure that these people will leave no part untouched in
there search to find a medical problem to disqualify you, donor organs are in
very short supply and they try to make sure that they do not waste them on
people who will just die of something else anyway. I hope Ive scared the hell
out of you because they will test you in other ways too, they will make the
transplant procedure the only thing in your life. Post transplant recovery
depends on YOU and how tough and committed you are to it.Just because you get on
the list does not mean you will stay there either. I have just been taken off
for the third time so they can do additional testing and then have another
debate about whether I am a viable candidate for the procedure. I think what is
alot of it is that they are seeing if I am tough enough and flexable enough to
adhere to their protocal,as I will need to be like that to make it through the
coming ordeal. So in closing I'll say you might as well just give up and give me
a better shot at having an organ available. LOL ya got to be tough Cindy but
dont forget to have a lot of good laughs along the way. wishing you the
best...Michael

25%!!
--- In HepCingles2@y..., "amazing_grace10" <amazing_grace10@y...

Hepatitis C Forum Scheduled for Cincinnati
CINCINNATI, Oct. 18 /PRNewswire/ -- State Rep Jean Schmidt (R-Clermont) will
host a Hepatitis C educational forum Tuesday, October 22, from 1-3 PM, at
TriHealth Pavilion, 6200 Pfeiffer Road, Cincinnati. A panel discussion will
include Ken Sherman, M.D., a gastroenterologist at the University of Cincinnati;
Schmidt, co-chair of the state Hepatitis C Commission and a member of the House
Finance and Appropriations Committee; Cincinnati Health Commissioner Malcolm
Adcock; Hamilton County Health Commissioner Tim Ingram; former state Rep. Bob
Schuler, a long-time Hepatitis C advocate; Craig Zimmers, a member of the state
Hepatitis C Commission and a former Montgomery County Clerk of Courts; and Bruce
Martin, M.D., medical director for the Ohio Department of Rehabilitation and
Corrections.
The purpose of the event is to build public awareness and education about the
disease, and to obtain public input into what the state should be doing to
combat the disease.
An estimated 3.9 million Americans are infected with Hepatitis C, a blood- borne
disease of the liver. An estimated 290,000 Ohioans have Hepatitis C. Hepatitis
C is transmitted when blood or body fluids from an infected person enter the
body of a person who is not infected. It is the number one cause of liver
transplants.
"It is vitally important that we start a process of education and awareness to
start a statewide conversation about how best to prevent and treat this
disease," said Schmidt.
"Hepatitis C is a growing epidemic, and it is critical that Ohio plans now to
deal with its impact on patients and our health care system in the future," said
Zimmers.
For more information, contact Craig Zimmers at (614) 761-3035.
---
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Checked by AVG anti-virus system (http://www.grisoft.com).
Version: 6.0.401 / Virus Database: 226 - Release Date: 10/09/2002

Okay here it is... the much anticipated (yeah right) 'answer' to the
Bitch test...
http://test3.thespark.com/bastardtest/

Stay Healthy News--October, 2002
October 2002 Staying Healthy Newsletter from
Dr. Elson Haas
The Nature of Healing
Hello Subscribers,
I hope you are adjusting healthfully, and in balance, with the season's shifts.
Moving into Autumn is often a most difficult transition for many. This Nature of
Healing topic is a more philosophical or esoteric discussion than my practical
tips. And it is longer than most of my previous writings, so take your time to
digest and assimilate this information.
Healing may involve the knowingness of taking difficult situations and turning
them into something positive-looking at the learning we acquire from our life
experiences. It can also come from lifestyle changes as in adapting diet, taking
nutrients, and having treatments that support better function and clear away
stresses and resistances. And who decides how or if we make any changes? Who's
in charge? Us? Nature? Spirit/God?
Disease is conflict-between conscious/subconscious, mind/body, thoughts and
feelings, spirit and matter. Solving and preventing conflict is a key to staying
healthy, along with proper nourishment, body movement and self-expression. Why
do we need Conflict? To learn and grow by challenging ourselves and moving
through these challenges, allowing healing and personal growth. Can we become
obstacle over-comers and healers in our own lives?
Learning and evolving in the three primary areas of life is essential for most
of us.
1) Relationships/Love-giving and receiving;
2) Career-sharing our talents and receiving recompense, and
3) Health-caring for ourselves and the results we experience. And how much
time, energy, and money are we willing to invest in our health and health care?
By opening to this life/learning process, you enhance your truths, face your
challenges, and grow into your full potential.
I have written about this practical and mysterious healing process (as well as
Nutrition, Herbal Therapies, and Chinese Medicine) in my first book, Staying
Healthy with the Seasons) coming out anew in Spring, 2003 with the Revised 21st
Century Edition.
I wish you harmony, courage, and healthy regards.
Dr. Elson

Patient-to-Patient: Looking Good, Feeling Bad- The Dilemma of Having an
Invisible Illness
By Susan Milstrey Wells
WebMD Columnist
Admitting that we don't feel well takes a great deal of courage. We live in a
society that prizes beauty, strength, and productivity, and there is a great
deal of shame and self-blame that comes with not living up to that ideal. More
often than not, when someone asks us how we are, we're likely to say "just fine"
and change the subject.
Our discomfort is compounded when our symptoms are largely invisible. When Jeri,
herself chronically ill, is not feeling well, she often gets the rash on her
face that is characteristic of lupus. "I get nice rosy cheeks and I do look
better," Jeri says. "I tell people I feel awful, and they say, 'You look
wonderful.'"
Looking good and feeling bad creates a number of dilemmas for those of us with
chronic, invisible illnesses. How much and to whom do we tell that we are sick?
What do we say when someone asks us how we are, or
tells us how great we look?
At one point in my journey of chronic illness, I would likely have said there
was a one-size-fits-all answer to these questions, and it would have been to
tell everyone you know everything you know, and make sure they understand it.
But whether it's a growing sense of maturity about my illness or a decreasing
lack of energy, or some fateful convergence of the two, I no longer feel
compelled to explain myself to people I meet on the street. When we accept the
fact that we're sick, it's less
important that everyone else does, too.
Certainly, those relationships that are most important to us require special
care and attention, and in my April column, I'll share some tips for improving
communication and strengthening our ties to spouses,
parents, children, and best friends. In the balance of this column, I'll share
my current thinking about how much, or how little, to reveal in the checkout
line at the grocery store, during coffee hour at church, or around the water
cooler at the office.
To Tell or Not to Tell
With people we have known for a long time, it can be hard to hide a change in
our health or unnecessary to do so. But with newer friends or passing
acquaintances, we sometimes struggle with the question of when to say we have a
chronic illness and how much detail to reveal. On the one hand, we may feel that
if we withhold information, we won't be able to develop a deeper relationship.
But on the other hand, we have very
little way of knowing how someone will respond to the reality that we're sick.
Each time I told someone I was writing a book about chronic illness and they
wanted to know why I was interested in the topic, I held my breath. When I admit
that I have health problems, I feel as if I am walking out
on a limb that might break without warning. I've been pleasantly surprised to
discover that by acknowledging my own limitations, I've opened the door for
others to share their health problems, or those of their relatives or friends.
You'd be amazed at how many of us are dealing, rather successfully, with ongoing
health problems!
In general, however, I think how much we reveal depends on the nature of the
relationship; my best friend knows the intimate details of my health problems,
but casual acquaintances may only know that I rarely make
evening commitments. When I tell business associates that I have chronic health
problems, I do so in the broadest of terms, and I try to sound as healthy as I
can when I say it! While we might feel that the more sick
we seem, the more sympathy and respect we'll command, I think it really works
the other way around. I've never had a client question me when I state simply,
and without further explanation, that I choose to limit
long-distance travel because of health problems. Yet I know instinctively that
they don't want to hear about my aches and pains.
Energy and Face-Saving Tips
I hope that some of the following specific tips, garnered both from my own
experience and from what others tell me, will help you through some of the
awkward situations we all encounter.
Most of us have developed a standard answer to the question, "How are you?"; and
I don't think we're being dishonest to use it in social situations. My response,
"Hanging in there," some days translates to "by the skin of my teeth," but it
works on good days, as well. When someone tells you that you look great, even
though you feel awful, a simple and heartfelt "thank you" is always an
appropriate response. After all, looking good while feeling bad takes talent!
When someone says that it's
hard to believe you're sick, you might acknowledge that even you struggle with
the disparity between how you feel and how you look. Try saying something like,
"Yes, it's even hard for me to understand how I can feel so bad when I look so
well." This disarms your critics and
creates common ground. If you are no longer working because of health problems,
and someone asks you what you do, try borrowing a page from Mirielle, who has
fibromyalgia. "As little as I can," is her cheery
response. Above all, save the limited energy you have to help those who are most
important to you understand how you feel. When people tell Angela, who has
multiple sclerosis, that she sleeps too much, her reaction depends on the
source. To those friends she thinks will
understand, she explains why she takes a nap everyday. "For the most part,"
Angela says, "I just laugh it off and say that some of us are lazier than
others."
Susan Milstrey Wells is author of "A Delicate Balance: Living Successfully with
Chronic Illness."
---
Outgoing mail is certified Virus Free.
Checked by AVG anti-virus system (http://www.grisoft.com).
Version: 6.0.401 / Virus Database: 226 - Release Date: 10/09/2002

This HEPC and the tx affect all of use differently
Done with the book
Good 'book' Del..lots of good information. I'm certain Randy appreciated
it..and Kym help Randy? hahahahaha...that girl can't hardly help herself..oh
wait a minute...this is a private reply right? hahahahahahha
morning all..and YES Kym is on week 20 of treatment..or 28 shots left as she
likes to put it..and is giving a well written speech today for Toastmasters
along with working 40+ hours at the hospital.
Like I said..where theres a WILL you'll find the WAY..Kym is living proof...oh
yeah..her way to do the meds was to have me here to help..funny she didn't
figure that out until four weeks ago!
~Bayla~
SVRnWaiting
'C' It! Treat It! Beat It!
"Sixteen years ago, the hepatitis C virus
had not even been identified
and now there are an estimated
170 million people around the world infected."

Press Release Source: Biogen, Inc.
Biogen and Schering-Plough Settle Royalty Payment Arbitration
Biogen Expects to Receive One-time Payment and Continuing Royalties
Friday October 18, 7:01 am ET
CAMBRIDGE, Mass., Oct. 18 /PRNewswire-FirstCall/ -- Biogen, Inc. (Nasdaq: BGEN -
News) announced today that it has settled its arbitrations with Schering-Plough
Corporation over royalties on U.S. sales of alpha interferon products.
a.. (Photo: http://www.newscom.com/cgi-bin/prnh/19990824/BIOLOGO )
As part of the settlement, Biogen expects to receive in the fourth quarter of
2002 a one-time payment in the range of $45 - $50 million, which represents a
portion of the amount that was in dispute between the parties. The actual amount
of the payment is subject to final calculation and review by the parties. In
addition, Schering-Plough has agreed, effective October 1, 2002, to commence
royalty payments to Biogen on United States sales of alpha interferon products
based on a 1998 agreement between the two companies.
Thomas J. Bucknum, Biogen's Executive Vice President, General Counsel stated,
"We are very pleased to have reached a settlement in this matter. We look
forward to moving beyond this dispute in our relationship with Schering-
Plough."
Biogen had granted an exclusive worldwide license to Schering-Plough under
Biogen's alpha interferon patents. Schering-Plough sells its INTRON A
(interferon alfa-2b) brand of alpha interferon in various countries, including
the United States, for a number of indications. Schering-Plough also sells alpha
interferon in other forms for the treatment of hepatitis C, including REBETRON
Combination Therapy containing INTRON A and REBETOL (ribavirin, USP) and
PEG-INTRON (peginterferon alfa-2b), a pegylated form of alpha interferon.
In 2001, Schering-Plough discontinued payment to Biogen of royalties on U.S.
sales based on a U.S. Court of Appeals' decision interpreting the scope of
Biogen's alpha interferon patent more narrowly than Biogen and Schering- Plough
believed appropriate. Biogen disagreed with Schering-Plough's decision to
discontinue payment and filed for arbitration to compel payment of unpaid past
royalties and to ensure payment of future royalties under the license agreement.
This press release contains forward-looking statements regarding the range of
the expected settlement payment from Schering-Plough. These statements are based
on the Company's current beliefs and expectations. The actual amount of the
settlement payment is subject to final calculation and certification by
Schering-Plough and review by Biogen and, as a result, could vary from the
expected amount. The Company does not undertake any obligation to publicly
update any forward-looking statements.
About Biogen
Biogen, Inc., winner of the U.S. National Medal of Technology, is a
biotechnology company principally engaged in discovering and developing drugs
for human healthcare through genetic engineering. Headquartered in Cambridge,
MA, the Company's revenues are generated from worldwide sales of AVONEX®
(interferon beta-1a) for treatment of relapsing forms of multiple sclerosis,
(Please see full prescribing information at http://www.avonex.com.), and from
the worldwide sales by licensees of a number of products. Biogen's research and
development activities are focused on novel products to treat inflammatory and
autoimmune diseases, neurological diseases, cancer, fibrosis and congestive
heart failure. The Company maintains active clinical research programs in
protein therapeutics, small molecules, genomics and gene therapy. For copies of
press releases and additional information about the Company, please consult
Biogen's homepage on the World Wide Web at http://www.biogen.com.

Hi folks,
Long time no post:) It seems like it is all I can do to read my
email. Right now I still have 212 in my mailbox. I might be a member
of too many groups;)
I wanted to share my liver biopsy with you guys. I had my second
biopsy this past Wed. It was so much easier than my first. It seemed
more body friendly:) unlike the first time, when they put me on my
side and shot a gun into me three times. Then I had to threaten
someone's life until I got some pain meds. This time I got an IV
with pain medicine up front. I was kept on my back and the area
numbed below my right breast to the side and before I knew it, is was
over. I was then put in a private room with a TV and even fed lunch.
It was a great experience.
As many of you know, I am from Florida but have been living in
Alabama. I am happy to report I am moving back to Florida. I am
moving to St. Augustine. I am very excited about getting closer to
family and friends.
The one thing I will miss up here, is the expediency of getting
appointments, tests and test results. I already have my biopsy
report. In Florida it would have taken two weeks to get results. Oh
well, such is life. I am grade III, stage IV using the Batts and
Ludwig classification. I believe that is still early stage cirrhosis.
At what point do people get on the liver transplant list? I am hoping
I am one of those people that never get on that list. Am I just
wishing?
I hope everyone is doing well. Take care my hepper friends.
hugs,
Cindy

Hi Michele
I not that up to date on the research, but I read that the
researchers had found HCV Virus in saliva but the virus was not
viable enough to infect others. The virus found in the saliva had its
own rna strands broken up, so it was dead virus. Of course though IF
one was to get bit and the biters gums bled at all then there would
be risk to the bittee! I hope you got this! I'm starting to confuse
myself.

Well Michelle these same people say that their drug therapy has a respondance
rate of 45 to 65% when my hepatologist says it is more like 30% so it seems to
me that they just have a problem with being a bunch of lying assholes. I sure
wish we had grounds for lawsuit against them, but here in the land of the free,
where you are free to be what they tell you to be, all the laws favor the big
money people. ut oh there I go again will I never stop...not while I can draw
breath and push keys LOL we have needed a revolution in this country as long as
I have been alive...Michael

OK, so I went to this site & just on a brief cruise-through, found some odd
information.
First, they're saying sexual transmission of hepC is 15%, rather than the 3-5%
I've read elsewhere. Yes, that's FIFTEEN PERCENT. Does this sound odd to
anyone? And that risk between married partners increases with time. Does this
also sound odd?
THEN, they say that "It is not known whether transmission occurs through
sexual intercourse or the sharing of household items (eg, toothbrushes,
razors, etc.)"
Not known? Everything I've read, & everything my heptologist has told me
indicates that sharing toothbrushes & razors is absolutely a way to transmit
Hep. And, I think it's highly irresponsible to say, "sharing household items"
without specifying that toothbrushes & razors in particular are risky because
they come in contact with blood. I've actually had 1 man I dated freak out on
me after he read on such a site that "household items" transmitted HepC. He
accused me of all kinds of awful things & I never saw him again. Yes, he was
an idiot, but we must suffer fools in this life, why set them off
uneccesarily?
And then, in the FAQ section they answer the "Can I still have sex?" question.
OK, they say sexual transmission is low. But they're saying 15%. That's not
low! And THEN! Then they say to practice safer sexy by using barrier methods
of birth control ... like condoms & DIAPHRAGMS! Since when does a diaphragm
prevent ANYthing except pregnancy??
I'm sorry folks, I am a bit touch today. I just listened 2 nights ago to a
couple of people talking about safer sex & how you had to be really careful
about HepC because one of them "knew" someone who'd gotten it from a bite, so
it was absolutely true you could get it from saliva.
I really wish there was more responsible info out there.
Michele
Date: Fri, 18 Oct 2002 13:27:25 -0400
From: "PeachStatePam"
Subject: Scherings All About Hep C Website

Not all hepatitis is contagious
[published on Thu, Jan 26, 2006]
Dear Dr. Gott: In your newspaper column, you wrote, "Some forms of chronic,
persistent hepatitis are contagious to family members, other types are not. All
forms can be spread by blood donation or needle sticks." This information is
wrong..
The only types of hepatitis that are contagious through blood donation and
needle sticks are the different viral forms of hepatitis. There are other forms
of persistent chronic hepatitis that are never contagious through any means.
Autoimmune, alcoholic, genetic and about 15 percent of liver transplants are of
unknown origin. I know because I am on the liver transplant list, and the
doctors have no idea why I have cirrhosis. You could mix my blood with anyone's
blood anytime, and no one would catch my hepatitis. Only the viruses are
contagious. This disease has a stigma attached to it already, with people
believing only drunks and drug addicts get it. Now you are telling people
everyone with hepatitis is contagious.
~~~~~~~~
Dear Reader: You are correct that there are other causes of hepatitis that are
not caused by viruses, such as cirrhosis of unknown cause (probably autoimmune),
alcoholism and the side effects of various medications. I am sorry for the
confusion; it is only the viral types of liver inflammation that are contagious.
Thanks for writing.
To give you related information, I am sending you a copy of my Health Report
"Viruses and Cancer." Other readers who would like a copy should send a long,
self-addressed, stamped envelope and $2 to Newsletter, PO Box 167, Wickliffe, OH
44092. Be sure to mention the title.
http://www.nwherald.com/StyleSection/gott/355778892403231.php