Guest guest Posted March 24, 2004 Report Share Posted March 24, 2004 I've been spending a lot of time studying the " sides " that come with combo therapy, and probably worrying about them way too much. But now I'd like to ask about any side benefits, other than the obvious one of killing off every damn one of those virus suckers! Interferon and ribavirin are not drugs that were developed specifically to treat Hep C. They are used to treat various cancers and probably other diseases I know nothing about. It seems like a " shotgun " approach to me: blast the body and wipe out everything not strong enough to resist! This is what I am leading up to ask: Might not this treatment also wipe out other undesirable viruses? Such as herpes, undetected cancers, etc? I read recently in US News that over 50% of men over 50 years of age have at least some cancer cells in their prostate. I wonder if the combo treatment might " zap " them as well? Can I expect fewer colds, or none at all, even though I feel like I have the flu? I can ask my Dr these questions, of course, but I have learned is to draw and rely upon the collective wisdom on this list. So, if my thinking about side benefits is totally faulty, I'm sure someone will tell me so! Thanks, Ray Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest guest Posted March 25, 2004 Report Share Posted March 25, 2004 My liver clinic told me that the combo treatment only enhances your own immune system to do the work of killing the virus. That was their explanation to me on why I have to wait until I have some sort of liver disease before they will treat me. But I'm not sure about this, if it did, I guess your immune system would be stimulated to attack all sorts of bad cells and stuff. Jellyfish Ray wrote: I've been spending a lot of time studying the " sides " that come with combo therapy, and probably worrying about them way too much. But now I'd like to ask about any side benefits, other than the obvious one of killing off every damn one of those virus suckers! Interferon and ribavirin are not drugs that were developed specifically to treat Hep C. They are used to treat various cancers and probably other diseases I know nothing about. It seems like a " shotgun " approach to me: blast the body and wipe out everything not strong enough to resist! This is what I am leading up to ask: Might not this treatment also wipe out other undesirable viruses? Such as herpes, undetected cancers, etc? I read recently in US News that over 50% of men over 50 years of age have at least some cancer cells in their prostate. I wonder if the combo treatment might " zap " them as well? Can I expect fewer colds, or none at all, even though I feel like I have the flu? I can ask my Dr these questions, of course, but I have learned is to draw and rely upon the collective wisdom on this list. So, if my thinking about side benefits is totally faulty, I'm sure someone will tell me so! Thanks, Ray Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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