Thank you very much for your very caring answer. It is so far the most honest and thus the most helpfu answer that I have had from anyone so far.
Hi Dalmat—
These are good questions; we’ll try to answer them as best we can.
Currently, the Standard of Care that has been adopted for HCV management consists of the drug ‘pegylated interferon’, along with the drug ribavirin.
The chances of eradicating the virus are dependent upon genotype. Typically, genotype 1 patients have a 45% chance of viral eradication; this requires treatment duration of 48 weeks minimum. For genotype 2 and 3 patients, the odds of clearing the virus increase to about 75-90%, with a treatment duration of 24 weeks, generally.
The side effects very greatly from person to person. The list of potential side effects is very lengthy, but the most common are fatigue, hair loss, depression, etc.
In a very small group of patients, the side affects of treatment can be profound,,, and in certain instances, can be fatal.
If there is very little live damage in terms of overt liver disease, treatment can be postponed temporarily. In order to access damage, A live biopsy should be considered every five years so that fibrosis can be identify
Take care,
Bil
You asked virtually the same questions two days ago.
We do not know the condition of your son's liver because you have not provided the appropriate information.
If you wan't someone to say 'No need to treat,plus it's not safe' you'll find them,although maybe not on this forum.
The real questions are;
1) Is your son's doctor a specialist hepatologist ?
2)Do you trust and respect him?
If yes to both then it's not hard to make a decision.