June 21, 2012
Triple therapy for hepatitis C is a life-giving but brutal regimen discontinued by 25% of patients. This service provides caregivers with information, strategies and opportunities for sharing.
FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
(Free-Press-Release.com) June 21, 2012 -- A new service for caregivers, patients and families of patients undergoing the new triple therapy for hepatitis C was announced today by husband and wife Ann Mills and Rick Childs of Nelson County, VA. Childs is currently undergoing triple therapy for hepatitis C. Fleury Mills, Ann’s twin sister, is a partner in the service.
http://tripletherapyforhepatitisC.com offers information, support and sharing for the caregivers, families and patients undergoing the brutal, but life-living drug protocol.
Approved a year ago, boceprevir (marketed under the brand name Victrelis) and telaprevir (marketed under the brand name Incivek) have become the standard of choice for the patients with hepatitis C virus (HCV) genotype 1. (Of the 2.7 million to 3.9 million people in the United States with hepatitis C, approximately 75% have HCV genotype 1.) The two protease inhibitors are administered as part of a triple-therapy regimen along with pegylated interferon and ribavirin.
The conventional treatment for hepatitis C achieved the goal of sustained virologic response (SVR) of between 30 percent and 50 percent in genotype 1 patients, meaning the six months after finishing treatment, the virus in not detectible in a patient’s bloodstream. The new triple therapy is achieving SVR at a high rate across all subgroups of HCV genotype 1 patients; treatment naïve patients, patients who have previously failed to respond, and patients with compensated livers. However, the side effects which can include anemia, nausea, itching, rashes, and others, are so intense and debilitating that up to 25 percent of patients don’t complete the treatment course, according to a recent study by BioTrends Research Group.
“The caregiver has emerged as a significant factor, if not the most important factor, in getting these patients through triple therapy,” said Ann Mills. “He or she should be regarded as a full partner in the regimen and provided far more information and support than that which is currently provided.”
Mills said the new website will provide information and coping strategies and tips primarily aimed at the caregiver. A forum where caregivers can share experiences and advice will be added in the next month, she said.
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