That IS great news, and we are all happy for you and always glad to
hear {{good news}}

I agree with Grey, so many different factors to consider beside just
how much liver damage so far....I'm sure you are greatly relieved by
this news and feel the pressure to treat is off for now, and that's
ok. I'm sure many docs would agree with yours as well.

My advice would be to also consider what your socio-economic situation
is currently vs what it could be in the future, should you find
yourself a couple of years down the road in more dire staits and feel
more urgently that the time to treat has arrived. (My company, for
example, is fond of reminding all 300 plus of us that anyone of us
could get run down by that Big Yellow Bus on any given day with no
warning... haha!)

I don't remember you mentioning factors like your age, but I'm
guessing that you are somewhere in the general vicinity of 50-ish
since I believe you mentioned before that you did A Bad Deeds back in
the late eighties....even if you were only 15-ish then, a rough
estimate tells me that this is 30 years later than the late
eighties...

I was diagnosed in late 2005, age 52, and my best guess is that I
contacted it in the 70's - it took that long for the damage to reach
the point of giving "warning signs" that someone picked up, and that
was only MILDLY elevated liver enzymes
...yet my liver was already at stage 3...

Did it cross my mind that if ONLY it had been discovered years ago,
and treated, I might have ended up wiht way less liver damage and so
on and so on....?? Absolutely!  Yet I have to realize that if it HAD
been diagnosed 20 years ago, I would not have had the "resources" to
consider treating it anyway....I had no insurance, I was a single mom
with sole financial, physical and emotional resonsibility for
supporting all four of us.

I have had a great, stable job with the same company for 13 years, now
with good benefits etc but even 10 years ago, I was still raising
three teenaged boys and had no financial support from other
sources...it would have been a really tough call for me to decide to
go ahead with treatment even 10 years ago, had I been faced with that
decision.

But by the time I WAS diagnosed, the kids were all out of high school
and on their own, and I had not only the medical coverage, seniority
and support of my employer, but I ALSO had a wonderful caring man in
my life who was there and helped me thru the year of treatment without
complaint. I was 1a and I cleared. Hooray. I think the stats are
higher than 50 % these days but I could be wrong, wouldn't be the
first time.

Be sure when you are making your decisions to treat now or not to
treat now, that you consider what your situation is now and what your
situation may be in the future. Not being negative, just realistic,
thru my own experineces.

Whatever you DO decide all the best of health to you in the future
going forward. May the Little Beasties not get you down if you choose
not to treat for now.   ~ Deb

Well it certain I'm not getting any younger but I tend to be pretty healthy
and live pretty healthy and the biopsy supports that I seem to be doing the
right things.  I'm going to give it some time.  I'm increasingly convinced
that I need to get into a different job and this would give me some leeway
to go looking.

Kyle J.