In response to Seanna Williams (Readers' Forum, Nov. 10) regarding Naomi Judd and her seeming "cure" from just "six months of Interferon" over the "most easily cured HCV strain you can get," I wonder if I could get Williams to totter on over to my house and tell me I'm "cured" of the headache her letter gave me.
The hepatitis C virus (HCV), affecting nearly 4 million individuals, is the most common, chronic blood-borne infection in the country, responsible for over 40 percent of all chronic liver disease, resulting in over 10,000 deaths in the United States yearly. Naomi Judd was one of the more fortunate carriers of this virus whose viral load was reduced by a very sickening, painful and expensive course of Pegylated Interferon.
For Williams to boldly proclaim Naomi Judd to be "cured" would require one with keener psychic abilities than a psychic hotline. Many sufferers don't receive a full course of Interferon due to either their inability or unwillingness to tolerate the physical distress. Interferon treatment is far from a Tootsie Roll Pop and a pat on the head.
Roger W. Taylor
Sandy