Until about a decade ago, receiving a diagnosis of hepatitis C was fraught with uncertainty and often a whole lot of worry. This dangerous and often silent viral infection causes inflammation of the liver that can lead to cirrhosis, scarring, liver cancer, and death. But thanks to exciting innovations in targeted treatment regimens that have come to market within the past five to eight years, the vast majority of cases of hep C (as it’s so often called) can now be cured yes, you read that right! meaning that lives are being saved.
This is not to say the disease should be taken lightly Hep C today can still be fatal. In 2018, more than 15,000 people died from it in the U.S., according to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) and that’s likely a low estimate, because many people do not get screened for the disease. (The CDC recommends that