Hepatitis C Support Group

Hepatitis C is a blood-borne viral disease which can cause liver inflammation, fibrosis, cirrhosis and liver cancer. The hepatitis C virus (HCV) is spread by blood-to-blood contact with an infected person's blood. Many people with HCV infection have no symptoms and are unaware of the need to seek treatment. Hepatitis C infects an estimated 150-200 million people worldwide.

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jfo624 11/21/2011

Hi my husband just got his results back 1a genotype . The only thing now is that they want to do catscan to see if he has any tumors.
He had an ultrAsound and liver biopsy and everything was good but because his afp was 8.8 . Wouldn't the ultrasound and biopsy show for tumors, cirrosis or cancer. Boy this is a lot to handle.. Please help . I am just out of my mind with thinking the worst.

deleted_user 11/21/2011

hi,

i don't really know? yes, you'd think the ultrasound would have shown any tumors?

it's good your doctor is being so thorough.

deleted_user 11/21/2011

if tumors are suspected an mri is ordered. it can even tell degree schirrosis..

deleted_user 11/21/2011

You should feel free to ask the doctor why a CT? There may be a very good reason for it OR they are milking the system. Or they just want to be thorough. Sorry if I sound suspicious but you do need to know if they know what they are doing.

I'm not sure but isn't a CT more expensive then an MRI? I had an Ultrasound then an MRI but that's because they saw a small something. I did not need a Biopsy and they said it was totally up to me to get one (I thought that was weird).

It's all very mysterious.

deleted_user 11/21/2011

Hi jfo-

I don't know much about liver cancer but a biopsy just takes a couple of tiny random samples of your liver so it wouldn't necessary detect tumors.

Have a look at this link, different tests can be used, among them ultrasounds, CT scans and MRI's. The latter are more sensitive than an ultrasound. Anyway, this link is very straight forward and easy to read:
http://www.cancer.org/Cancer/LiverCancer/OverviewGuide/liver-cancer-overview-diagnosed

Good luck to you and you hubby.

deleted_user 11/21/2011

* your

(damn, I should proof read BEFORE I post)

jfo624 11/21/2011

Thanks for the feed back

deleted_user 11/21/2011

The 8.8 doesn't appear to be elevated from what I've read online but all labs are different I guess. Did they tell him the 8.8 is high? If that is considered high, it could be high just from the fact that he has hepatitis. It doesn't have to mean cancer or cirrhosis.

Yes, it's a lot to handle when it's a new diagnosis of Hep C. Try not to let your mind wander into all the negative things. Try to stay positive and take it one step at a time with all the tests. The hardest part is all the waiting for results, etc.

The good thing is that your husband now knows that he has Hep C and he can get it treated. Hang in there.

deleted_user 11/21/2011

I bet he is going to a university hospital? Maybe? I think they do more testing than docs on private practice.

jfo624 11/21/2011

Thank you everyone . God bless

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