Page 28 - UHN Year In Review 2014-15: Patients As Partners In Care

Medical And Community Care

New treatments bring hope of
eradicating Hepatitis C

Just weeks after receiving the news he had been cured of Hepatitis C, Lance Gibson teamed up with
Dr. Jordan Feld to run the Scotiabank Toronto Waterfront Marathon to raise awareness about the virus.
From left to right: Dr. Jordan Feld, Lance Gibson, and Gibson’s daughter Jade Gibson. (Photo: Lance Gibson)

One of the deadliest infectious Nearly one per cent of the Canadian attacks the new liver.
diseases in Ontario, hepatitis C, can population is infected with Hepatitis
now be virtually cured. Dr. Jordan C, which offers no early warning With the ability to cure viral
Feld, a hepatologist at Toronto signs or symptoms until the hepatitis, Dr. Feld is also advocating
Western Hospital, led a global, condition is quite advanced. The for provincial, national and global
multi-centred, clinical study to majority of infected individuals strategies to prevent, diagnose, treat
investigate new treatments for viral remain undiagnosed and only a tiny and ultimately eliminate viral
hepatitis. Published in the New minority currently receive treatment. hepatitis around the world.
England Journal of Medicine, the As a result, the economic burden of
researched showed that 96 per cent viral hepatitis is high. The most costly Link to full story: click here.
of patients treated with the new form of treatment for patients with
drug treatment were cured of Hepatitis C is a liver transplant, which
their infection. only buys time before the virus

28 Patients as Partners in Care