health
From surviving
to thriving
Hepatitis C infects nearly 250,000 CanadiansI was one of them.
BY MARSHA LECOUR
I
n 1957, as a young child at the Hos-
pital for Sick Children in Toronto, I
required a blood transfusion during
open-heart surgery. The blood transfu-
sion was administered and the surgery
turned out to be very successful. But,
little did I know, the blood transfusion
contained tainted blood.
Fast forward to the mid 1980s. During
a routine medical appointment, my
family physician requested that I go for
blood work at a local lab. He noticed
something unusual, so he referred me
to a hepatologist (liver specialist).
During my appointment with the hepa-
tologist, I was told that I had non-A
non-B hepatitis. In other words, I had
hepatitis C.
I was surprised and asked several ques-
tions about this new diagnosis. During
our conversation, he told me that I
would probably require a liver trans-
plant down the road. This form of hep-
atitis is a virus that causes deterioration
to the liver over time and can potential-
ly lead to cirrhosis and cancer.
I asked for more details and he told me
that his research team was conduct-
ing research on pig livers for transplant
purposes. I am a committed vegetari-
anand have been for many years. The
thought of having a pig's liver inside
me made me want to gag. There was
no way this was going to happen to
me. I knew that it could possibly save
my life, but there had to be another
way.
In the fall of 2013, I had an appoint-
ment with hepatologist Dr. Jordan Feld
BE FLEXIBLE AND ADAPTABLE
in Toronto, which involved an ultra- chronic infection, while about 25% will
sound and routine blood work. This ap- clear the infection on their own.
pointment was different. Until then, he
A new cure
had always mentioned that he would
Until recently, there was no known cure
continue to monitor the functioning
for this infectious virus. But now, there
of my liver. This time, my back was
is a proven cure with a cure rate of ap-
against the wall. He told me that I had
proximately 95% during a 12-week
no choice: treatment was now my only
treatment period.
option.
Feld is the lead researcher for sofos-
During 48 weeks of therapy with three
buvir-velpatasvir, a fixed dose com-
different medications that finished in
bination medication for hepatitis C
April 2014, I experienced many side
treatment.
effects including depression, hair loss,
anemia and nausea. Miraculously, three This drug regimen changes the stan-
years later after treatment, I was cured dard of care in treating patients with
of hepatitis C. HCV. We can now cure almost every-
one with a very simple treatment, he
What is hepatitis C? said. This is truly a one-size-fits-all treat-
The liver performs more than 500 func- ment that is easy to administer and is
tions in the body. It removes harmful extremely well-tolerated. Our challenge
chemicals from the blood, fights infec- now is getting treatment to those who
tions, helps digest food and stores en- need it. Over half of people living with
ergy. Hepatitis C attacks the liver with hepatitis C remain undiagnosed.
the hepatitis C virus (HCV), gradually
damaging the liver over a long period
of time. One can contract hepatitis Marsha Lecour, MEd. is the award-winning
author of The Book of Hepatitis C:
C by coming into contact with 7 Simple Strategies to Shift from
blood that contains the virus, Surviving to Thriving after Hepatitis
which gets inside the blood- The C. As a health mentor, Marsha
teaches and inspires others to
stream, infecting the liver. importance of
reclaim their health to thrive
Hepatitis C is a global getting tested fully with less stress, increased
health issue affecting productivity and more fun.
There is a big push for www.marshalecour.com
nearly 170 million peo- the baby boomers,
ple. Approximately those born between 1945
250,000 Canadi- and 1975, to get tested. It
ans are infected and is a simple blood test that
110,000 of those live can be requested from
in Ontario. Approxi- your family doctor.
mately 75% of people
who are infected develop
OPTIMYZ.COM 79