Starting Treatments

I knew I was in for some serious treatment when I had to go to class with a few other people where we were going to learn how to give ourselves shots, deal with the side effects, and what we could and couldn't eat. I noticed the other people in the class looked kind of sick and they weren't smiling. I thought I must be in the wrong class because I felt great and no one mentioned anything to me about shots. When they said I might lose my hair I realized I must be in a cancer class. I informed the nurse that a mistake had been made and I thought I was in the wrong class. She smiled and said that HEP C (hepatitis C) was called the silent killer for a reason and told me I was in the correct class.

I asked to see the doctor after class and told him I was going to reconsider the treatments and that is when the bomb dropped. He said he apologized that he didn't go into more detail with me and then informed me that the bottom line was it's the only treatment that might prevent me from dying. I asked how long I had, and he said I would not have any serious problems for several years.

I couldn't believe what I was hearing and I must have gone into shock. I thought this was just a virus that needed treatment and it would just go away. I wasn't even sure how I caught the virus in the first place. I asked him after I take the treatment would that be the end of it. Then the next bomb hit! The doctor informed me that there was only a 5% chance it would work (currently it's around 40-60%) but it was all the medical community had at the time. When I left I wasn't smiling either.

Web site about Hep C

http://www.allabouthepatitisc.com/readytolearn/about/statistics.jsp