Re: Re: Fwd: how the government treats hepatitus C victims.

[Guest guest]

did you get my last e mail about how I have been

trying to educate people etc.......

my e mail is acting funny so I am not sue if you

received it.......Connie

--- 2byteme@... wrote:

> Dear Constance:

> I think I understand what you are trying to say.

> Here are the US

> figures, from what I have been able to collect. The

> HCV is not new and

> may have been around, in one form or another, for

> hundreds to a thousand

> years. Whether it was always deadly, or the victims

> were not properly

> diagnosed and died from the disease and it was

> called liver cancer, or

> cirrhosis, or any of the other multiple

> complications, and never

> categorized correctly, we may never know.

> The current projections are that there are

> 180,000 HCV cases per

> year, that will be diagnosed in the next 5-8 years.

> If you add that to

> the current cases, and those that progress to the

> need for liver

> transplants, there are many problems. On average,

> only 1 out of 10

> people needing a liver transplant get one. That

> figure will decrease as

> both the demand is increased, and the availability

> is decreased both

> because more people will need, and there will be

> less people who can

> donate.

> Liver transplants cost about $ 100,000.00 for

> the transplant, and

> the figures escalate from there because not everyone

> who gets a

> transplant will accept them. Then you have all the

> anti-rejection

> medications needed for the rest of your life, blood

> tests, etc., etc. We

> are only at the tip of the iceberg.

> Current combo therapy, per person is

> approximately $ 18,000.00 for a

> full course, but add another $ 5-6,000.00 for other

> medications needed

> during therapy. Add an average of $ 5,000.00 for

> routine labs, another $

> 1-2,000.00 for biopsies, another grand for

> ultrasounds, and maybe a

> total of $ 4-6,000.00 in doctor bills, and the

> figures quickly add up.

> Each person who has HCV at any time, whether active

> or in remission,

> becomes unable to donate blood, so there is a

> tremendous impact on

> almost every aspect of health care, and the cost to

> the system is not

> easily calculable, when you look at those directly

> affected, and those

> that are losing because of a chronic illness.

> We can then add to all of this the costs lost in

> terms of job

> performance, time lost in productivity because of

> illness, doctor

> visits, lab tests, and in some cases, total

> inability to work, etc., the

> costs to our economy is astronomical. Currently, the

> government is

> basically doing nothing. This is similar to the

> early days of AIDs. No

> one wants to look at the factors of this disease,

> and place a high

> priority on it, at least yet.

> I believe that until some celebrities, or

> someone well known gets

> ill or dies from HCV, or has to resign from the

> Congress and publicly

> states it is because of HCV, not much will probably

> change. We saw this

> in the days of early AIDs and Regan, et al, sitting

> on information and

> dollars while people were dying, all because " they

> were gay, or drug

> users " and society would not suffer any loss. It was

> not until it spread

> to the heterosexual community, and began to affect

> those who were

> listened to by the media, did something begin to get

> done.

> This is still true of HCV, and that's why the

> public needs to be

> educated. None of the candidates have taken any real

> stance on the

> issue, and right now it would probably only be

> election BS. The issue

> either needs to be forced out for candidates to

> address it very

> publicly, or someone outside, who the media will

> listen to, to see what

> it is costing us, directly and indirectly.

> I don't think any party is truly taking a

> position, or even

> acknowledging the seriousness to those effected and

> the implications to

> the Country. Just keep contacting any, and everyone

> who will listen,

> educate anyone who will listen, and keep being the

> squeaky wheel, and

> hopefully we'll be able to get noticed in the near

> future. Marty

>

>

>

__________________________________________________

[Guest guest]

did you get my last e mail about how I have been

trying to educate people etc.......

my e mail is acting funny so I am not sue if you

received it.......Connie

--- 2byteme@... wrote:

> Dear Constance:

> I think I understand what you are trying to say.

> Here are the US

> figures, from what I have been able to collect. The

> HCV is not new and

> may have been around, in one form or another, for

> hundreds to a thousand

> years. Whether it was always deadly, or the victims

> were not properly

> diagnosed and died from the disease and it was

> called liver cancer, or

> cirrhosis, or any of the other multiple

> complications, and never

> categorized correctly, we may never know.

> The current projections are that there are

> 180,000 HCV cases per

> year, that will be diagnosed in the next 5-8 years.

> If you add that to

> the current cases, and those that progress to the

> need for liver

> transplants, there are many problems. On average,

> only 1 out of 10

> people needing a liver transplant get one. That

> figure will decrease as

> both the demand is increased, and the availability

> is decreased both

> because more people will need, and there will be

> less people who can

> donate.

> Liver transplants cost about $ 100,000.00 for

> the transplant, and

> the figures escalate from there because not everyone

> who gets a

> transplant will accept them. Then you have all the

> anti-rejection

> medications needed for the rest of your life, blood

> tests, etc., etc. We

> are only at the tip of the iceberg.

> Current combo therapy, per person is

> approximately $ 18,000.00 for a

> full course, but add another $ 5-6,000.00 for other

> medications needed

> during therapy. Add an average of $ 5,000.00 for

> routine labs, another $

> 1-2,000.00 for biopsies, another grand for

> ultrasounds, and maybe a

> total of $ 4-6,000.00 in doctor bills, and the

> figures quickly add up.

> Each person who has HCV at any time, whether active

> or in remission,

> becomes unable to donate blood, so there is a

> tremendous impact on

> almost every aspect of health care, and the cost to

> the system is not

> easily calculable, when you look at those directly

> affected, and those

> that are losing because of a chronic illness.

> We can then add to all of this the costs lost in

> terms of job

> performance, time lost in productivity because of

> illness, doctor

> visits, lab tests, and in some cases, total

> inability to work, etc., the

> costs to our economy is astronomical. Currently, the

> government is

> basically doing nothing. This is similar to the

> early days of AIDs. No

> one wants to look at the factors of this disease,

> and place a high

> priority on it, at least yet.

> I believe that until some celebrities, or

> someone well known gets

> ill or dies from HCV, or has to resign from the

> Congress and publicly

> states it is because of HCV, not much will probably

> change. We saw this

> in the days of early AIDs and Regan, et al, sitting

> on information and

> dollars while people were dying, all because " they

> were gay, or drug

> users " and society would not suffer any loss. It was

> not until it spread

> to the heterosexual community, and began to affect

> those who were

> listened to by the media, did something begin to get

> done.

> This is still true of HCV, and that's why the

> public needs to be

> educated. None of the candidates have taken any real

> stance on the

> issue, and right now it would probably only be

> election BS. The issue

> either needs to be forced out for candidates to

> address it very

> publicly, or someone outside, who the media will

> listen to, to see what

> it is costing us, directly and indirectly.

> I don't think any party is truly taking a

> position, or even

> acknowledging the seriousness to those effected and

> the implications to

> the Country. Just keep contacting any, and everyone

> who will listen,

> educate anyone who will listen, and keep being the

> squeaky wheel, and

> hopefully we'll be able to get noticed in the near

> future. Marty

>

>

>

__________________________________________________

[Guest guest]

Many viruses have been around billions of years or so (well.. longer than

I've been alive at least .. Wars were always good for introducing new

diseases to a previously unaffected population, then came blood transfusions

after the turn of the century and the number of people sharing blood

contaminates skyrocketed. Is why as much as I love science, I always prefer

caution. Doing one good can cause thousands of wrongs.

alley/

ICQ 12631861

alleypat@...

http://www.flash.net/~alleypat

[Guest guest]

it was to this post...

<<> Here are the US

> figures, from what I have been able to collect. The

> HCV is not new and

> may have been around, in one form or another, for

> hundreds to a thousand

> years. Whether it was always deadly, or the victims

> were not properly

> diagnosed and died from the disease and it was

> called liver cancer, or ...

>>

that made me think of wars and blood transfusions spreading disease.

alley/

ICQ 12631861

alleypat@...

http://www.flash.net/~alleypat

[Guest guest]

it was to this post...

<<> Here are the US

> figures, from what I have been able to collect. The

> HCV is not new and

> may have been around, in one form or another, for

> hundreds to a thousand

> years. Whether it was always deadly, or the victims

> were not properly

> diagnosed and died from the disease and it was

> called liver cancer, or ...

>>

that made me think of wars and blood transfusions spreading disease.

alley/

ICQ 12631861

alleypat@...

http://www.flash.net/~alleypat

[Guest guest]

What? I don't understand what you said re this topic

--- alley/ <alleypat@...> wrote:

> Many viruses have been around billions of years or

> so (well.. longer than

> I've been alive at least .. Wars were always good

> for introducing new

> diseases to a previously unaffected population, then

> came blood transfusions

> after the turn of the century and the number of

> people sharing blood

> contaminates skyrocketed. Is why as much as I love

> science, I always prefer

> caution. Doing one good can cause thousands of

> wrongs.

> alley/

> ICQ 12631861

> alleypat@...

> http://www.flash.net/~alleypat

>

>

__________________________________________________

[Guest guest]

What? I don't understand what you said re this topic

--- alley/ <alleypat@...> wrote:

> Many viruses have been around billions of years or

> so (well.. longer than

> I've been alive at least .. Wars were always good

> for introducing new

> diseases to a previously unaffected population, then

> came blood transfusions

> after the turn of the century and the number of

> people sharing blood

> contaminates skyrocketed. Is why as much as I love

> science, I always prefer

> caution. Doing one good can cause thousands of

> wrongs.

> alley/

> ICQ 12631861

> alleypat@...

> http://www.flash.net/~alleypat

>

>

__________________________________________________

[Guest guest]

Ooooooooooooooh now I understand .....Connie

--- alley/ <alleypat@...> wrote:

> it was to this post...

>

> <<> Here are the US

> > figures, from what I have been able to collect.

> The

> > HCV is not new and

> > may have been around, in one form or another, for

> > hundreds to a thousand

> > years. Whether it was always deadly, or the

> victims

> > were not properly

> > diagnosed and died from the disease and it was

> > called liver cancer, or ...

> >>

>

> that made me think of wars and blood transfusions

> spreading disease.

> alley/

> ICQ 12631861

> alleypat@...

> http://www.flash.net/~alleypat

>

>

__________________________________________________