Living with Hepatitis C: A Survivor's Guide [Paperback]

Gregory T Everson MD FACP (Author), Hedy Weinberg (Author)

Book Description

ISBN-10: 1578260345 | ISBN-13: 978-1578260348 | Publication Date: June 15, 1999 | Edition: Revised

With new information on the latest treatments including Ribavirin, new chapters on hepatitis C and women, children and HIV, special information for diabetics, and updated resources of organizations, government agencies, and support groups. Hepatitis C afflicts over 4 million Americans. This is the book that brings them help and hope. Hepatitis C is a virulent, silent disease that is projected to kill 24,000 Americans each year within the next one to two decades. Acquired years before its symptoms show, hepatitis C can lead to debilitating fatigue, depression, cirrhosis, liver cancer, and death. This revised edition of Living with Hepatitis C: A Survivor's Guide is written for the millions of Americans who suffer from this deadly affliction-and for their husbands, wives, families and friends. Written by a nationally recognized hepatitis C expert and an award-winning writer, Living with Hepatitis C explains in everyday language the causes of the disease, how to understand blood tests and biopsies, the major and minor symptoms, how to avoid infecting others, and how taking care of yourself nutritionally will help. Readers will learn how to deal with the emotional rollercoaster and the cycle of grief and how to protect themselves and their families financially. The book also details all of the latest treatments including Ribavirin, what to expect if you need a liver transplant, and how dedicated medical researchers are providing hope for the future.

Editorial Reviews

Amazon.com Review

A total of 3.9 million people in the United States and more than 170 million worldwide are estimated to have hepatitis C, a viral infection that causes inflammation, injury, and ultimately scarring of the liver. Each year, 8,000 to 10,000 Americans die from liver failure due to hepatitis C--the rest live with it. Living with Hepatitis C presents the facts simply and positively, and removes the misconceptions. For example, this type of hepatitis is not sexually transmitted--if you have hepatitis C, your partner is in no danger from having sex with you, but might get infected by using your razor. You'll learn how infection takes place (blood to blood), how to keep your loved ones safe, how your liver works when it's well, 10 danger signs of liver disease, nutrition guidelines, emotional challenges, financial issues, treatment options, and research trends.

Gregory Everson, Director of Hepatology at the University of Colorado Health Sciences Center, explains hepatitis C with clarity, optimism, and compassion--and without the "docspeak" common in many health books. Coauthor Hedy Weinberg and other people with hepatitis C tell about their experiences frankly, bringing a personal flavor to this helpful and informative book. --Joan Price --This text refers to an out of print or unavailable edition of this title.

From Library Journal

This comprehensive guide to hepatitis C (there are types A through G) informs us that almost four million Americans (including country singer Naomi Judd) carry this little-known disease, that its prevalence exceeds HIV and Parkinson's disease, that the Centers for Disease Control see it as a virulent, silent disease with no known cure, and that it is usually fatal. Everson, a leading hepatologist and expert in the treatment of this illness, and Weinberg, a writer who contracted hepatitis C from a blood transfusion and who is Everson's patient, explain the disease in everyday language and take the patient step-by-step through the entire process of diagnosis and ongoing care, including liver transplants and financial ramifications, coping, and research trends. An extremely useful title on a subject that deserves greater coverage; recommended for all consumer health collections. [A portion of the book's profits will be donated to the Kern Research Foundation, to be used exclusively for research into a cure.?Ed.]?James Swanton, Harlem Hosp. Lib., New Yor.
-?James Swanton, Harlem Hosp. Lib., New York
Copyright 1997 Reed Business Information, Inc. --This text refers to an out of print or unavailable edition of this title.

See all Editorial Reviews

Product Details

• Paperback: 248 pages
• Publisher: Hatherleigh Press; Revised edition (June 15, 1999)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 1578260345
• ISBN-13: 978-1578260348
• Product Dimensions: 8.8 x 5.7 x 0.8 inches
• Shipping Weight: 13.6 ounces
• Average Customer Review: 4.5 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (14 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #3,084,486 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)
  • #95 in Books > Health, Fitness & Dieting > Disorders & Diseases > Hepatitis

More About the Author

Discover books, learn about writers, read author blogs, and more.

Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

46 of 47 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Excellent MUST READ for anyone with Hepatitis C, July 2, 1999

By 

[e-mail] (Fillmore, CA) - See all my reviews

This review is from: Living with Hepatitis C: A Survivor's Guide (Paperback)

This new, updated version is the most comprehensive book yet on Hepatitis C. It does not show all gloom and doom and is a very positive read. Explainations of tests, symptoms, and side effects are in easy to read and understand language for anyone. The personal views of patients are great, as they validate others who feel the same way. This book is a MUST for anyone with Hepatitis C or anyone with a family member who has the disease. As a Support Group leader, I plan to use this book extensively and to encourage all members to purchase it as well.

6 of 6 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars "The quiet after the storm ", November 5, 1998

By A Customer

This review is from: Living With Hepatitis C:: A Survivor's Guide (Paperback)

This book provides the calm after learning of a positive diagnosis for Hepatitis C. I want to thank Gregory Everson,MD for his timely and very informative book, Living with Hepatitis C: A survivor's guide. As a nurse I found the book to be an easy read explaining many complex and difficult medical terms. The book is succinct not filled with a lot of statistics and medical jargon. It is pragmatic in its approach to helping the infected person understand treatment options, their potential effectiveness and financial burdens. It never sugar-coats the reality that this is a potentially fatal disease which is reaching epidemic proportion. The book is very sensitive and non-judgemental regarding the modes for viral transmission. The discussion for the need for more organ donors nationwide is excellent and well presented. I think for those living with this diagnosis it is empowering to read the candid comments from Hedy Weinberg the co-contributor to the book who freely shares her experiences surrounding diagnosis, treatment, and fears. There are many anonymous contributors who also share their experiences and through them the reader sees their own fears and realizes I am not alone, there is HOPE. But I did not read this book as a nurse seeking knowlegde. I read it as a woman seeking such hope, for I am a woman learning to love a very courgeous man who is learning to live with his Hep C diagnosis. I now know the storm has passed and survival is possible. Read this book, get educated, alleviate your fears, gain hope, advocate for organ donors. Live calmly, live fully.

3 of 3 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Most comprehensive, easy to understand, encouraging book, May 23, 1999

By 

Snake Baker "guitarslinger" (Chicago, Ill) - See all my reviews

This review is from: Living With Hepatitis C:: A Survivor's Guide (Paperback)

This book should be distributed through the doctor's office to everyone diagnosed with hepatitis c. It addresses every question I have on my disease. I have been on intron and/or ribavirin for 5 years. The pleasant picture painted by the video the drug company distributes is not an accurate one. I have five friends with this disease, in addition to one who is living with a transplant and one who died of it several years ago after two transplants. This book is highly recommended by all who read it. So 5 stars from each of us! It made us realize that we are not whiners or exceptions. Pain and discomfort are easier to take when you understand why it is happening and that it's not just happening to you.