Do It for Your Liver
The liver is located in the upper right side of the abdomen. It is the largest organ in your body and it performs essential functions that are critical to your health:
- Filters and removes toxins (harmful substances) and waste products from the blood (a healthy liver filters blood at a rate of about 1.5 quarts per minute. That's 540 gallons of blood a day and more than 13 million gallons over a lifetime!)
- Stores nutrients such as certain vitamins and minerals including iron
- Plays a role in creating and controlling levels of cholesterol, hormones, sugars, and other chemicals
- Helps the body digest food
Completing your treatment for hepatitis C may take some courage. You are doing something that may cause you to feel sick now, in order to fight a virus that may not be making you feel sick yet.
Think of your hepatitis C treatment as a long-term investment in your health. Short-term losses (side effects) may be unpleasant, but staying the course can lead to long-term gains (better health).
The cost of not treating your infection — permanent damage to your liver and your health — can take time (even decades) to emerge.
Continue to learn the risks of not finishing treatment