Hepatits C Has Killed More People In The United States Over The Past Decade Than HIV and AIDS Or Any Other Form Of Viral Infection

Let’s be perfectly clear – the Hepatitis C virus, known as HCV, has killed more people in the United States over the past ten years than the AIDS-causing HIV virus. But HIV information and education resources are everywhere, and Hepatitis is the ignored and forgotten killer.  HCV is the leading chronic virus infection leading to death in the United States. The victims most often are baby boomers and most of them do not know they have the virus until it is too late. As many as 2 million of the 5.5 million infected American citizens do not even know they have the virus. While the fight against HIV has been championed, HCV has been allowed to invade our country and do extreme damage that we have chosen to ignore with a smile and a shrug of our shoulders.

Enough is enough!  Researchers from the US Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) found in a study published in the February 21, 2012 issue of the Annals of Internal Medicine that hepatitis C had overtaken HIV as a cause of death in the United States by 2007. Deaths in the United States due to HIV infection have been steadily decreasing, and dropped below 13,000 in 2007, while deaths from hepatitis C infection have been steadily increasing, first surpassing 15,000 per year in 2007. The good news is that the various drug combination strategies that have done so much to transform HIV infection from a death sentence to a manageable disease are poised to further boost cure rates for those infected with hepatitis C.

PERSONS AT RISK According To The CDC

Chronic Hepatitis C has been diagnosed in about three million people in the United States. If you received a blood infusion before 1992 in any country, including America, you are at risk. If you received a blood transfusion in any European country prior to the past ten years, you could be at risk. If you received a blood transfusion in a third world country last year, you could be at risk. A major problem is that HCV often causes no symptoms before it is almost too late and the only viable treatment is a liver transplant. Many who have been infected for years or even decades may remain unaware until deadly symptoms finally appear with a vengeance. The ultimate cause of death attributable to chronic infection is cirrhosis or liver cancer, and there is no vaccine.

Compared to HIV or hepatitis B, the risk of hepatitis C being transmitted by sex is low. However, like HIV, that risk is increased in homosexual encounters. The idea of screening the general population seems obvious. At least, offer screenings at local businesses and clinics like they do with HIV. The problem is that the HCV test is much more expensive and much more difficult to do than the HIV test, What has been controversial is whether or not all baby boomers should be screened, but why the insurance companies are ignoring the threat to their clients and rejecting screening opportunities. Yet, another study suggests that a one-time blood test ordered by primary care providers to screen for antibodies to hepatitis C in those born between 1945 and 1965 would be cost effective – costing $2,874 for each chronically infected patient identified – and would lead to the identification of more than a million previously undiagnosed cases.

SCREENING RECOMMENDATIONS OF THE CDC

It is important not to mistake Hepatitis A or Hepatitis B for Hepatitis C. Despite having the same name, they are very different diseases. Hepatitis A is the traditional version of hepatitis that we have head about since we were kids. Hepatitis B chronically infects about half as many as hepatitis C in the United States, but it hits those of Asian descent particularly hard. Hepatitis B is responsible for about 1,800 deaths yearly in the United States. Despite the similar names, the two viruses are not closely related. Hepatitis B is spread much more easily through sexual intercourse, and passes from mother to newborn child much more easily. In most adults who become infected the immune system successfully controls infection. In addition, there are vaccines for hepatitis B.

It is time for a medical revolution in regards to Hepatitis C and a powerful campaign across all traditional lines of media to raise awareness. When two million Americans, despite past lifestyle choices, are in critical danger and do not even know it, enough is enough. We must take action or watch the death rates rise even higher until it becomes a black spot on the soul of our country.

How Do I Make Sure I Do Not Lose Touch With Lessons Born Screaming From Hepatitis C Treatment Side Effects And All That Suffering?

I had such a powerful and unexpected experience today. I was transferring my iPhoto pics from my MacBook Pro to my new iPad, and I saw for the first time in almost two months, the extreme pictures of the rash and what happened to me. It was horrifying. I simply could not believe how truly bad it was even though it happened to me. As I heal, it is a part of me but it seems so far away as well. If I lose touch with the horror, do I lose touch with my gratitude? And it was horrific... for example, here is a pic taken on November 22, 2011 of my right leg and left foot. The treatment already had lasted two months. And it got much worse over the next ten days as the wounds became a staph infection...

I should look at these pictures every day. It might not be very appetizing, but it will be such a strong reminder of why I should be grateful and humble and happy to be alive. It is so easy to lose touch with your gratitude. I am a master at tossing it out a window as the wanting takes over and I dance with the devil, comparing myself to other people, wading in envy and jealousy, feeling either less than or more than, but never being myself. I know it is normal, but it is so careless as well. I have gone through a nightmare and I have survived; if it is to mean anything, I must truly change and transform the lessons wrought screaming from my body into everyday practices. A hard way to learn those lessons, but more valuable than I can ever express.

Here is a picture of me on September 15, 2011 in the doctor's office as I take my first dosage of Ribavirin right after I had given myself the first injection of Interferon in my stomach. I so believed that it would be a tough process, but not all that bad, and I would get through it with little damage and healed of the virus. I seriously had no idea what was coming down the pike like a runaway school bus with all the kids screaming and terrified. Okay, maybe not that awful, but it truly sucked!

Yes, it all began on that day, and I am grateful to be healed of this virus. At least, there's about an eighty to ninety percent chance that I am healed, and I will take those odds in Vegas any day. 

But, honestly, I am not the same guy anymore, and I am trying to process the changes, both negative and positive. The scars are healing, although they will always be visible on my legs. But the physical scars do not represent the change. The change is a spiritual shift into realizing the beauty and wonder of this gift of a life and truly valuing it on a daily basis. No more excuses and no more bullshit as I embrace the sometimes difficult and always challenging path of my authentic self. 

Will everything be okay in the end? I think so because I choose to live in faith and not in fear. Rather than being overwhelmed by and terrified of the question mark, I embrace the strange wonders of this mystery that lies before me. I do not know what it is right now and I am always a bit neurotic and worried, but I promise to do my best to truly walk the walk and no longer just talk the talk.

As 2012 Begins, NASDAQ Reports That New HCV Drugs Are At The Forefront Of Another Year Of Sky High Pharmaceutical Profits

A Booming Biotech High With HCV Market Overflowing:

There is a Question of Love, a Question of Our Humanity —

Can People Come Before Profits?

A Common Goal With The Occupy Movement - People Before Profits

Another Year, Another High… The biotechnology sector, though a risky investment arena, offers a tremendous potential for huge gains. Binary events like clinical trial results and FDA decisions are typical in biotechnology companies, and can cause significant swings in share price. The following are some of our bio stock picks of 2011 that have been setting new highs.

Pharmaceuticals Inc. (IDIX) is a biopharmaceutical company building a pipeline of drug candidates for hepatitis C, a market with high levels of unmet need. IDIX was trading around $5.06 when we alerted readers to the stock on September 6, 2011, and it set a new 52 week high of $15.25 in intraday trading on Jan.19, 2012, representing a gain of 201 percent. The stock closed Friday's trading at $11.68.

The acquisition of Inhibitex Inc. (INHX), a hepatitis C drug developer, by Bristol-Myers Squibb Company Co (BMY) on Jan.9, for $26 a share, or about $2.5 billion, which was a 163% premium, sparked an interest in other hepatitis C drugmakers.

Achillion Pharmaceuticals Inc. (ACHN) is a biopharmaceutical company focused on the development of antivirals for the treatment of chronic hepatitis C. ACHN was trading around $4.37 when we alerted readers to the stock on October 7, 2011, and it set a new 52 week high of $12.95 in intraday trading on Jan.13, 2012, which implies a gain of 196 percent. The acquisition of Inhibitex Inc. (INHX), a hepatitis C drug developer, by Bristol-Myers Squibb Company Co (BMY) on Jan.9, for $26 a share, or about $2.5 billion, which was a 163% premium, sparked an interest in other hepatitis C drugmakers.

Based upon recent results of clinical trials, Achillion is planning further exploration of ACH-1625 in combination with other oral antiviral agents for the treatment of all HCV genotypes and continues to evaluate ACH-2684 in a phase 1 clinical trial. Achillion plans to submit an investigational new drug application and initiate a phase 1 clinical trial with ACH-3102 during the second quarter of 2012. During the second half of 2012, Achillion plans to initiate an interferon-free, all-oral combination clinical study evaluating a protease inhibitor and a NS5A inhibitor, with or without ribavirin, for the treatment of HCV.

Can Profits Before People Shift To People Before Profits In Health Industry

Without question, the development of an interferon free, all oral protease inhibitor will revolutionize worldwide the HCV market. The question is can the people come before the profits. If the treatments costs too much and is too expensive for people to access without bucket loads of assets or the perfect insurance plan, then this is not what the world needs. The focus has to be that everyone should be taken care of and given access to a treatment that potentially can and will save lives.

The Shift Must Be Made - 

People Before Profits, Not Profits Before People 

When It Comes Down To The Health Industry

The So-Called Biotechnology Sector
?Beyond Our Understanding?
No More Excuses or Rationalizations

Accessible Medical Treatment For All!

Another Rash, More Itching, New Side Effect Of HCV Treatment - You Have Got To Be Kidding!

I must admit that I cannot believe I am writing these right now. It is so absurd that I am now being hit by a whole new side effect of the Ribavirin, an itchy rash that is not nearly as bad as before, but still sucks. The rash is nothing like the raised boils and insect-bite like bumps that I experienced before. The itching is nothing in comparison, although it is quite annoying. At this moment, my back and both of my thighs are itching. Not screaming like before, not the madness that has no answer, but a nasty rash that bites the big one. 

I guess the best comparison I can come up with is a Scarlet Fever rash that I had when I was a kid. The rash is not raised and is evenly spread across the areas like a red splotch. I am shaking my head and I cannot believe that I actually have to deal with this crap and convey my frustration and anger to you. This is not a picture of me below. It is from the Internet and a mild form of a Scarlet Fever rash. The new rash is not nearly as extensive or as bad, but you get a sense of what it is like.

I mean, Jesus Christ, I have less than a month left of treatment, and this is what the universe decides to throw my way. I would say it is downright unfair, but the words of Rabbi Mark Borovitz echo in my ears. Whenever someone would complain at Beit T'Shuvah, the Jewish rehab where I originally got sober in 2003, the Rabbi would laugh, point to the door, and say: "The Fair's in Pomona." For everyone unaware of California traditions, the yearly state fair is always held in Pomona. Still, as I try to maintain a certain stillness and not erupt into anger, I am pretty damn well pissed-off. 

It is so easy to lose faith. It is so easy for me to curse God and to believe that the universe is throwing more at me than I can handle. But this is bullshit. This is the voice of my fears and my past. I can handle this and whatever else come my way because a beautiful awaits. I just need to walk my path and believe that the sun will rise tomorrow and I am already cured. I do have faith that a lovely destiny is around the next bend at the end of the road in the city of my mind.

The Bad Cop In Rampart And Being Spared The Regrets That Will Never Go Away - Or Was I?

After watching the brutal and sad realism of Rampart, a film directed by Oren Moverman that stars Woody Harrelson as a bad Los Angeles cop in 1999, I felt such a relief not to be burdened by the kind of regrets that simply will never go away. Yes, I regret sharing a needle and being infected HCV, I regret all of those years wasted and all the talent and potential casually tossed aside, and I regret how the damage I was doing to myself did so much damage to my family and my friends, all my loved ones. But this regret is different than the kind of regret that is expressed in the film. 

Beyond his violence and renegade behavior in uniform and on the street, Officer David Douglas Brown is blind to the damage that he has caused in his own home. He does not see how his legacy of corruption, his moniker of Date Rape Dave on the LAPD, and his caveman-like mentality have damaged his daughters. His two ex-wives, actual sisters who live in houses side-by-side in a suburban neighborhood with Dave ensconced in the back, are aware of this damage and even see clearly the legacy of ruin, but do not know how to delicately extricate themselves from under his thumb. 

Entrapped by the nuanced and difficult to watch story line, I was emotionally moved in a manner that was quite strange and not expected. Yes, sitting alone on my bed, I almost shed tears for the two daughters from the two marriages, one 17 and the other 12, because I could feel their pain and extreme revulsion when they realized the truth about their father. Once that line is crossed, it is very hard to ever return to even a semblance of normality. Those girls are so damaged because they come to realize that their father is a bad man who is never going to change or accept responsibility for his acts. As the oldest daughter, Brie Larson gives arguably the best and most authentic performance in the film. You empathize so deeply with her despair, her frustration, and her hatred that she hates the burden of knowing the truth about her father.

On the other hand, side-by-side with this sadness, I felt a tremendous sense of relief because I never had children when I was caught in the web of my addiction, and I never subjected children to the warped insanity generated by my disease of perception. I am so grateful not to have done that damage because I doubt I would ever be able to forgive myself. Even if my children forgave me, I could not expiate the sin of poisoning their childhoods and sacrificing their faith and innocence. It would be too much.

The Pain Of His Eldest Daughter Is Beyond His Ability To Comprehend

Then again, as I write this, I realize that I am fooling myself as well. Didn't I make my parents and sisters go through the pain of watching me in a coma for over two weeks in 2002 after my car crash? As I was in the hospital for over 2 1/2 months, were they not exposed to the rantings of a brain damaged addict who was begging them for a little heroin because his boundaries were destroyed. It is so bizarre because I have no memories of that time. I barely even remember being in the hospital, and I am told horror stories by my close friends that I can barely fathom. I must remember that just because I was spared the worst, just because I cannot remember, does not mean the wounds of my family did not scar. 

What did my father tell his business partners about his middle-aged son? How did my mother explain to her close friends what had happened to me? Like Woody Harrelson's children in Rampart, were they not victims of my warped insanity? Did they not suffer more than I can possibly imagine? How often do I downplay their suffering because it is not my own?

And, yes, I know they are adults and not children, and I know it is not quite the same. But I have to be careful not to minimize the weight of my own responsibility and not to ignore the suffering I created. Just because I am sober now, it does not change the past. I know I cannot live in regret, but I must live with awareness and honesty as well. As my father would say, I cannot bullshit the bullshitter. The damage I did cannot be undone, and all I can truly do now is make a living amends by changing my behavior and being the man I actually was put here on this earth to be.

Why Are You On This Earth And Who Are You Supposed To Be?

Just Joined Networked Blogs As I Try To Continue Optimization. A Facebook Page Is Next

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I just joined Network Blogs as I begin trying to optimize Spirit And Consequences. What a concept for a guy who works in that business to actually try to distribute his own blog. I really want to get the message out there, and if you are willing to help, it would mean a lot.

A Facebook Page is next on the list, and thank you for your ongoing support!

Beyond The Treatment Scars, Haunted By Genius And The Curse Of Bitterly Wondering Why It Is Not My Own

There is a reason why Envy is one of the Seven Deadly Sins, and it has nothing to do with a serial killer coming after you to exact vengeance or any other brilliant thriller by David Fincher. Is there any normative occurrence as corrosive to the soul as the act of feeling greater than or less than another person? When I compare myself to other people, when I mistake their path for my own, when I believe like a child that the grass is always and your ice cream is so much sweeter, it is nothing less than the devil taking shape beyond a metaphor.

When I refer to the devil, I am not thinking about Lucifer falling from the heavens with the other damned angels or any other Christian story, but rather the word is so powerful in the context of the destructive and negative impulses that lurk within my own soul. The devil in my own is my sense that I am not good enough and not worthy of love. It burns and rips and tears and scratches just beneath my consciousness, occasionally rising into reality as sarcasm and bitterness, fear and contempt, entitlement and grandiosity, lust and so many other forms of violence against myself and the world. Like alcohol to the alcoholic, the devil of comparison is cunning, baffling and powerful, and arises in the most unexpected fashions.

Seeing the absurd comic book cover above, you are probably shaking your head and thinking, "Oh no, here comes a terrible the elephant in the room analogy where we are asked to see the elephant towering within ourselves." 

Nope, that's not it at all. But I know exactly where you are coming from and why that thought would arise. I have been a comic book reader and fan, lover and mild fanatic for many years, and I believe no widely viewed and experienced art form evolved and grew more since the 1980s in the world. But that is a subject for another blog. I still read comic books in collected graphic novel form, but it is rarer and rarer that I find something I want to read. 

Having been spoiled by the wonders of Alan Moore and Frank Miller, Neil Gaiman and Warren Ellis, it seems that tons of books look okay, but not really worth buying and reading. The Walking Dead by Robert Kirkman is impressive and led to a great cable show, but, from my perspective, it does not compare to my favorite books. As a result, I often browse the extensive graphic novel section of my favorite second-hand book store Counterpoint that just happens to be down the street from my apartment, looking for something to read.

A month or so ago, I stumbled upon Elephantmen: Wounded Animals, a graphic novel that looked kind of silly to me upon first glance, although I was drawn in by the cover art of the Mexican artist José Ladrönn. It had a wonderful noir feel to it as if The Maltese Falcon and Blade Runner decided to have a child with Taxi Driver and Horton Hears A Who. Even though the volume was in perfect condition and only $8, less than half of the original price, I am a cheap bastard some of the time, somewhat impoverished most of the time, and always questioning all of the time. It just looked too silly like it wouldn't work, despite the great reviews on the back cover, and I couldn't bring myself to buy it.

About a week later, browsing again in Counterpoint, I stumbled upon the volume, and it looked back at me with those accusing pages that demanded to be read. Fine, I said to myself, eight bucks is nothing, and I can always give it away to a friend later on. Wow, was that strutting little boy in for a surprise!

Elephantmen is not only good, it is beautiful and strangely emotional and a stunning piece of work. Using an Amazon gift card, I was given for Christmas, I already have sent for several other volumes. It is incredible how Starkings is able to take anthropomorphic Elephants and Rhinos, Hippos and Crocodiles, Boars and Camales, and actually allow the reader to feel the nuances of what they are feeling and experiencing in a world that rejects them as genetic engineered horrors. Of course, the art is consistently powerful and is perfectly in tune with the writing, but the art would fall on its face without those nuances and the intricate but simple crafting of the story lines. 

Isn't it amazing how something so extreme and absurd can shed such a sweet and unwavering spotlight on prejudice and not judging a book by its cover (in more ways than one) and our fear of the other, of the unknown, of that which is not us? Cycling back to the original theme and being haunted by genius and the curse of wondering why it is not my own, the ugly moment occurred this evening as I was sitting on my favorite unspoken and reading Elephantmen: Wounded Animals again. Lord only know, I picked up that habit from my father as a kid, and I don't think it's going anywhere anytime soon.

As I was reading, I began to leaf through About the Creators section in the back that included the bios of Starkings and the pencillers and the colorists and the letterers and so forth. There are blurbs about and pictures of the 17 creators in total, and the section is done very well. Reading the blurbs as I sat on my bitter throne, I felt the lizard of envy rising up from my bowels as I began wondering why I have never had such success. Sure, I get the bit about the artists and visual guys, but how did Starkings become such a great writer and get the opportunity to write comic book scripts? Why wasn't I given that shot? Really, when you think about it, it's just not fair and the universe sucks and everyone hates me and I am a loser and destined to be a failure forever and ever and so it goes, on and on and on...

How good are you at beating yourself up? I am the virtual Picasso of destroying John Lavitt and reducing him to a withered husk of self-pitying shreds. Nobody says the kind of nasty shit to me that I say to myself all the time as the devil appears, and I feel less than the rest of the world. I quickly lose touch with my gratitude and my fortune, my wonder and my love as the dragon of envy roars its ugly head and burns me to a crisp with its fiery breath. It is not Puff the Magic Dragon and there is no frolicking in the autumn mist with little Jackie Paper.

There is very little that more corrosive to the human soul than using the success of other people and their accomplishments as a weapon against yourself. What I have learned in theory and often put to use in practice is that nobody' success ever diminishes me. If everyone in the world was successful and were able to turn their dreams into a reality, welcome to heaven. Why would I ever want to prevent heaven my popping up on our so often tawdry little planet? How great it would be if my friends and family experienced the happiness and wonders, the creative satisfaction and the love that they truly deserve! If I can take this idea and feeling, this spiritual principle, and turn it into a reality, as Louis Armstrong would say, what a wonderful world it would be.

Okay, yes, I know I will relapse regularly when it comes to my character defects as the seven deadly sins rise from within. Why do I allow the false behemoths of fear and the bloated leviathans of insecurity  to rule those moments? Yet, I have learned that I don't have to beat myself up for making such mistakes. I can be kind and gentle to John and try to learn the triggers and fault lines that lead to such negative eruptions. I can enjoy the genius of Richard Starkings and his co-creators without being envious or jealous, bitter or self-defeating. Slowly, I will improve and experience my authenticity as John and not as anyone else in the world. Again, Louis would chime in, what a wonderful experience that is and will continue to be if I avoid shooting myself in the foot and allow heaven to rise from within.