March
2002
Needed: Volunteer to answer our Support Group Phone Line. Please email
us or phone 530 622-7725 if you will take on this important responsibility
Bill Wills -- March 20

A Placerville pharmacist who prepares custom-made drugs to help his clients with many ailmentse

Upcoming Agendas:

April 17 (3rd Wed., as usual) -- To Be Announced
Meeting Agenda:
6:30 p.m. (sharp) - Theme Song: I Will Survive
6:35 - 6:45 announcements
6:45 - 8:00 Bill Wills, custom pharmacist
8:00 - 8:30 (or earlier) questions/answers 'til we adjourn
May 15 -- Support Group Members Interact (No Guest Speaker)
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Thank you to those of you who have used last month's enclosed envelope to pay dues and verify your address. And, if you haven't, please do that right now while you are thinking of it.
More News
Our Meetings: Our Meetings: 3rd Wednesday of every month; at SCC (Sutter Cancer Center) classrooms 3&4 , 2800 L St (kitty corner across from the 2-story parking structure at 28th & L St. and across L St. from Sutter Hospital)
Contact Us: Phone number: (need volunteer)
Our Web Site> www.sacmall.net/transplant/hepc.html
Email: dck@innercite.com (include "I Will Survive" in subject line or your message might be delected before being read).

* Time to Renew your subscription to I Will Survive. Members who could not contribute last year want to thank those of you whose paid subscriptions made it possible for them to receive our newsletter. Hopefully, some more of you will be able to provide support for 2002.

If you want to be included on our mailing/emailing list and you can afford to include a check, make it to Eve Cragen, Treasurer I Will Survive, P.O. Bx 2180, Loomis, CA 95650, for:
$24 if you want the Newsletter by U.S. mail
$15 if you get the Newsletter from the website (if you wish, each month we'll email a link to you)
$ 0 if, right now, you can't afford to pay dues. In which case "I Will Survive" will mail monthly Newsletters to you. Please contribute to the "Donations" Box at the meetings as you are able.

From the March 2002 HCV Advocate :
...In 2001, InterMune purchased the rights to market "Infergen" also known as consensus interferon (CIFN, a bioengineered type 1 interferon alfa from Amgen). By 2005, they plan to develop a pegylated version of CIFN.
...InterMune reported on a phase IV trial and compared the use of CIFN plus ribavirin to the use of interferon alfa-2b (Rebetron) plus ribavirin. Sustained virologic response (SVR) rates were 56% compared to 31%.
...Excerpts from an article entitled: "The Liver and How it Works"
......The liver weighs ~ 3 lbs and is about the size of a football. If as much as 3/4 of the organ is lost, the liver can grow back within several weeks.
......The liver is responsible for over 500 bodily functions. About 90% of the body's nutrients pass through the liver where food is converted into energy and several nutrients are stored. The liver plays a role in conversion of iron into heme (a component of hemoglobin which is the red blood cell that carries oxygen). Liver cells produce bile which aids in digestion of fats, absorption of fat soluble niutrients, and transport of toxins for excretion. The liver converts heme into bilirubin; a damaged liver may lead to the build up of bilirubin in the blood resulting in jaundice.
......The liver regulates the production, storage and release of sugar, fats and cholesterol. It converts glucose (blood sugar) into glycogen for storage and then does the re-conversion when required. The liver converts amino acids from digested food into fatty acids such as triglycerides then converts fatty acids into ketones which muscles use for fuel.
......The liver synthesizes several important proteins including enzymes, hormones, clotting factors and immune factors. Liver enzymes called aminotransferases (ALT and AST) break down amino acids from digested food and rebuild them into new proteins needed by the body.
......The liver acts as a filter to remove pathogens and toxins from the blood. It processes almost everything a person eats, breathes or absorbs through the skin including alcohol, drugs, solvents, pesticides and heavy metals. It processes for excretion byproducts of normal metabolism (such as ammonia) and excess hormones (such as estrogen).
......In a damaged liver, normal tissue becomes fibrous (fibrosis), fatty (steatosis) and scarred (cirrhosis). In compensated cirrhosis, though scarred, the liver can still function relatively normally. In decompensated cirrhosis, the damage is so extensive that there is no normal functioning. Scar tissue may block the normal flow of blood through the liver leading to portal hypertension (high blood pressure) and the development of bleeding varices (stretched and weakened blood vessels) in the esophagous and the stomach. Other conditions due to severe liver damage are ascites (fluid accumulation in the abdomen), edema (swelling, especially in the legs and the ankles), hepatic encephalopathy (impaired mental functioning), puritis (itching) and coma.
If you have no money or insurance call:
Sacramento Clinical Trials
Schering's Commitment to Care 1-800-521-7157
Infergen's Safety Net Program 1-888-508-8088
Roche's Patient Assistance 1-800-443-6676
Dr. Gish, et al, call: Pacific Hepatology, (916) 443-0503
Dr. Pimstone UCD Med Center, (916) 734-1557
Dr. Rossaro UCD Med Cntr, call: Katherine Suggett (916) 734-8696



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