HepC BC 
hepc BC bull: September 97- COMING UP:
Victoria Chapter Meetings: Last Wednesday of each month 1 - 3 PM, and again at 7-9 PM, St. John the Divine Church Lounge,1611 Quadra St. (Entrance through the rear, marked Annex)
NEXT MEETINGS: August 27 & Sept. 24th.
Vancouver Chapter Meetings: Second Thursday of every month, 7:30pm, 5745 Wales Street, at the First Lutheran Church, Vancouver. (between Nanaimo & 42nd on Wales Street)
NEXT MEETING : September 11th .
Penticton Chapter
Meetings: Third Thursday of every month, 7-9 PM, Penticton Health Unit -Boardrooms
NEXT MEETING: Sept. 25th.
Kelowna Chapter
Meetings: Last Saturday of every month, 1-3 PM
Rose Avenue Education Room in Kelowna General Hospital. NEXT MEETING: Sept. 27th.
HepC BC
CLASS ACTION SUITS: BRITISH COLUMBIA
Camp Church and Associates
Sharon Matthews / Kim Graham
4th Floor, Randall Building
Vancouver, B.C. V6B 1Z5
1-800-689-2322
Lemer Kambas
Bruce Lemer
Suite 1550,625 Howe Street
Vancouver, B.C. V6C 2T6
Before 1986 and after 1990
Klein Lyons
David A Klein
805 West Broadway, Suite 500
Vancouver, B.C. V5Z 1K1
(604)874-7171
(604)874-7180 (FAX)
also:
Dempster, Dermody, Riley and Buntain
William Dermody
4 Hughson Street South, 2nd Floor
Hamilton, Ontario L8N 3Z1
(905) 572- 6688
The toll free number to get you in touch with the Hepatitis C Counsel is 1-(800)-
229-LEAD (5323). It may not be working yet so please be patient.
HepC BC
This information is for anyone who has received blood transfusions in Canada, if they wish to find out if their donors were Hep C positive.
TRACEBACK INQUIRIES
Contact:
Dr. Lisa Jeppesen or Dr. P Doyle
The Canadian Red Cross Society, 4750 Oak Street, Vancouver, BC, V6H 2N9
1-888-332-5563 (local 207)
HepC BC
Please mail out your letters to your MPs and MLAs, as well as to the health ministers, supporting compensation for the recipients of tainted blood. Thank you!
HepC BC
Medical Conference in Victoria
The CMA and its US counterpart, the American Medical Association, will co-host a conference on physician health Apr. 29-May 2, 1998, in Victoria, BC.
The CMA expects 300-400 clinicians, educators, researchers, representatives from provincial/territorial and state licensing bodies and policymakers to discuss and explore issues related to physician health.
Assisted by international speakers, presenters and experts, participants will examine a range of critical issues, including:
coping with changing economic or practice circumstances
stress and physician health
physician well-being and disability
mental illness, including substance abuse
updates on clinical areas, such as depression and pharmacotherapy.
comparative/epidemiologic data
special populations (such as women, minorities and international medical graduates)
source:
http://www.cma.ca/canmed/am130/news/index.html#4
HepC BC
Chapters of the Canadian Liver Foundation in your area are located in Kamloops and Vancouver.
Residents of Vancouver andsurrounding areas can reach the local chapter at 681-4588. Fax: 681-6067. The chapter president is Mark Quirk.
The address: #545-1130 W. Pender Street, Vancouver, BC, V6E 4A4. Call toll free (B.C. only): 1- (800)- 856-7266
HepC BC
The first thing I remember after I came to, post-transplant, was the look of relief and wonder on my wife's face. I felt markedly different, and remarkably better. Of course, anything would be an improvement over how I felt pre- transplant. Like I've said many times since, I felt like I'd been shot out of a cannon, and, you know, after almost 2 years, I'm still trying to grab on to tree branch or something, that will allow me to slow down, metaphorically speaking, of course. It makes that much of a difference. Yes, miracles come in strange packages.
Many aspects of my life, post- transplant, are different now, but perhaps the biggest change is my world-view.
The first several months I was riding a wave of euphoria -- just darned glad to have made it through. I didn't have to work on my head space at all. Of course, euphoria, in all its guises, never lasts very long, without having to work at it, and pretty soon, I felt the old negativity and anxiety creeping back in. I wasn't supposed to feel that way. I had had a liver transplant, for @#$% sakes! I had been transformed! Well, how come I didn't feel that way, anymore?
Well, usually out of a catharsis comes an epiphany (if you're looking for one) and I realized that I had to never allow myself to forget that I'd been given a gift that defies all logic and explanation. I mean, how did they do that, anyway? But most importantly, what does it all mean? Why was I plucked from certain death to carry on with this life in such a manner? And what are the spiritual ramifications of such an experience? This is what I'm exploring at present, and I suppose I will, for all time. Spiritual awakening and awareness requires work, if one is to ask these questions. It shouldn't come easy, for only will the awareness reveal itself with constant vigilance, never losing sight of the miracle of my life and all that it implies.
I could write a whole book on this subject, and maybe I will, if I can grab onto that branch, someday.
Yes, the old anxieties creep back in, and they're never completely out of the picture, but the transplant experience supersedes such mundanities. I have no time to waste on them. It's been over 700 days, now, and each morning I have to look in the mirror and say "Carpe Diem" (Or is it "Caveat Emptor"?) Ha ha! And I do the best I can, and try to do better, everyday. Life is just too damn precious, and it's not a given.
This leads me to my final comment. One of the biggest changes in my outlook on life is my outlook on death. I don't fear it anymore -- at least not like I used to. Death and life are entwined like yin and yang. It's all part of the same journey, and, not fearing death certainly makes life more interesting and far more mysterious, yet somehow easier to understand.
Dave Smith Tel. 658-4991
HepC BC
Reminder:- Any change of address, phone number or Postal Code, please let me, your phone contact (in Victoria) or your Chapter Secretary (B.C) know at your earliest. It saves our meagre funds. Thanks.
Jim Lodge 386-8227
e-mail:- ut301@freenet.victoria.bc.ca
Vice-chairperson & Membership
Victoria Chapter HeCSC acknowledges the personal donations, donations in kind and memorial donations received to date, and the following for discounts, donations of services, or equipment: Monk Office Supply. CFAX 1070 Radio, and Apple Canada.
PROCEEDS TO THE VICTORIA CHAPTER OF HeCSC.
Tickets: $1.00 each, or 5 for $4.00. Draw Date: September 24, 1997 at 1:30 PM at 1611 Quadra St., Victoria, BC, V8W 2L5. Contact: Judith C. Fry, (250) 592-0252, or write to her at #302-3205 Wetherby Rd., Victoria, BC V8P
HepC BC
First Annual Hep C Fun Run "Mud, Sweat, and Tears": Sunday, November 9th, in Cordova Bay.
Volunteers are needed to act as marshals to direct the runners. Please come and help us out. Call 388-4311.
Samaritan Committee: Volunteers are needed to visit our hospitalized or homebound members, and to see that those in need get help from community services. Please call 388-4311.
HepC BC
In honour of Tim McClemont's visit to the Okanagan, we are trying to change our monthly meeting from the 18th to the 25th.
Welcome to all new Kamloops people and thank you to Linda Shaw for organizing the Hep C Information forum. It was wonderful to be a part of bringing Hep C info to Kamloops.
Not much else is new here. Summer has been busy, but fun! Have a great month.
Take care,
Leslie
HepC BC
DISCLAIMER: HeCSS cannot endorse any physician, product or treatment. The guests invited to our group to speak, do so to add to our information only. What they say should not necessarily be considered medical advice, unless they are medical doctors. The information you receive may help you make an informed decision. Please consult with your health practitioner before considering any therapy or therapy protocol. The opinions expressed in this newsletter are not necessarily those of the organization.
On behalf of the inmate population at William Head Institution who attended our first Hepatitis C Awareness Group, I would like to thank the Hepatitis C Society of Canada, Victoria Chapter, for giving freely of their time, resources, and knowledge.
A special thanks to Dave Smith, Joan Diemecke, nurse Louise Alarie, Colleen McLean, and Kate Darling (a representative for the Center for Disease Control). These people came fully prepared, with informational handouts, and provided answers to questions for a group of people whose access to these materials is extremely limited.
I would also like to thank the prison authorities for respecting our confidentiality, in particular Deputy Warden Dan Denis, who personally confirmed his help in this endeavor, within his realm of authority; Rosemary O'Brien, Head of Programs, for providing gate passes for our speakers and assistance whenever she was asked; and Marjorie Hanks, our in-house nurse, who has always put forth more personal and professional effort than her job mandate requires.
I hope that I haven't missed anyone, and if I have, thank you all for your support.
The prevalence of HCV infections in prisons is reaching epidemic proportions. When thirty to seventy of your neighbors in your community are infected with a potentially fatal virus, I would call this reaching epidemic proportions. Our inmate populations need to be informed. The Victoria Chapter has made a giant step in this direction by donating their time and energies to the William Head Population. Again, thanks.
Mike G.
HepC BC
Several months ago, I lost a friend. His exit made hardly a ripple in the scheme of things and I think that is what bothers me the most."Pat" was my brother-in-law and he had liver disease. Plagued by hepatitis B, C, and finally HCC. He died at the age of 46.
The night he died was quiet. There was no last minute activity to try and extend his life or even make him comfortable. The doctors had all quit days and even weeks before his death. Pat was told to go home and spend some quality time with his family. He was going to die. You see, Pat was chemically dependent.
The last politically correct form of discrimination rears its ugly head. No transplant list for Pat. Of course not. He was a drug addict. Everyone in America knows that drug addicts don't deserve to live. One's self made bed is to be slept in, after all. Never mind that he had a wife, two daughters, and a large extended family that loved him very much. Never mind that he went to work and supported the family that he loved. Never mind that, if he had it to do over, he would have chosen another path.
Who is qualified to judge one life more valuable than another? Who is to say that his life had no worth? Do we refuse to treat patients that have become ill due to cigarette smoking because they chose to smoke? Is the man hit by a car turned away from the E.R. because he crossed against the light? I was definitely hurt by this. Pat was tall, handsome, healthy otherwise, and born into a family full of opportunity, but also full of strife. I understand his pain somewhat and also understood that he was not worthless. How can a doctor, who does not even know someone, pigeonhole their worth based on one fact.
Pat did not hide his problem. He did not fight the consequences. He knew it was useless, and he was made to feel as though he really was worth less than everybody else. This man had to go home and tell his 8 year old daughter that he was going to die in a couple of weeks. No hope, no list, no chance whatsoever, and it was all his fault. He was not even offered the usual drugs to combat encephalopathy. Why add a few days of clear thinking to this life? The last time I saw Pat he did not even know who I was. Several days later he died in a coma, as his daughter wept on his chest. No ripples - so I thought I would try to make at least one. In memory of Pat, my brother-in- law, my friend: He died with courage and honor. He was not worthless.
Anonymous
HepC BC
The moon spins its nightly song,
The ocean deepens,
shadows fall,
On the horizon,
my vision breaks,
Uninvited, unannounced -
I have come to learn the dragon's gaze.
Its eyes, mirrors of red/yellow flames,
Hold within
my image fast,
the lines in my palm,
the steps of my journey,
and all my dreams -
unspoken/untold.
My hands have fallen, lost from prayer,
My heart adrift, yet I
Feel I must
keep so very still - to shift
into that place
a movement reaching,
for the center/the core.
That place where only balance exists,
where words have wings,
and stars shimmering,
cast once again
their reflection on
the ocean
below.
J.P.
HepC BC
Have you had your hepatitis B vaccine yet? The Center for Disease Control has approved free vaccines to those who have hepatitis C.
Also, please ask your doctors if the influenza and pneumonia vaccines are indicated in your condition.
HepC BC
October 26-30, St. John's, Newfoundland, Canada, "Canadian Association for Clinical Microbiology and Infectious Diseases Meeting on Infectious Diseases (65th)." Contact: Martin Skulnick, Dept. of Microbiology, Mount Sinai Hospital, Toronto, Ontario, M5G 1X5, Canada, Phone (416) 586-4696, Fax (416) 586-8746,
E-mail (mskulnick@mtsinai.on.ca).
HepC BC
At the conference "Substance Abuse and HCV"
on August 22, 1997, in San Francisco, Dr. Robert Gish, a reknowned
hepatitis C specialist from the California Pacific Medical Center,
related the following criteria he uses when deciding which of
his patients to treat:
No Liver Disease
Chance of Progression <7%
Unlikely to Treat
Minimal hepatitis; no fibrosis
Chance of Progression <7%
Unlikely to Treat
Moderate hepatitis; no fibrosis
Chance of Progression 20%
Treat
Moderate hepatitis; with fibrosis
Chance of Progression 30-70%
Treat
Severe hepatitis; with fibrosis
Chance of Progression 70-90%
Treat
Early Cirrhosis
Unlikely to Respond
Decompensated Cirrhosis
Do not Treat
Risk factors, such as depression, autoimmune disease, or heart disease, must be considered, so as to decide if a patient qualifies for treatment, as well.
On a positive note, Dr. Gish reported that there is good news for HCV, in that there are approximately 30 companies working on treatments for the virus, and within 3 to 5 years, there could be as many as 10 choices for treatment of HCV. (From reports on the Internet)
HepC BC