I think it’s normal to experience great fear when we’re first diagnosed with hepatitis B: fear of dying young, fear of relationships being affected, and fear of giving it to others.

With fear, it’s irritating when someone tells you, “Don’t worry about it,” as if they think you can just turn worry off and on. At some point, however, we have to overcome our fears and get on with life

So just how do we lose fear?

I think many of us control our fear by getting angry and telling ourselves “hepatitis will not keep me from living each day to its fullest, having fun, and hanging out with my friends.” Others may become so obsessive about their HBV that they can become imprisoned by their fear.

Although there is a fine line between being proactive about our health and being totally obsessed with it, I like what my friend Karin wrote: “With all the cool things in life that a person could get obsessive about, why pick a disease?”

I must have worried a lot when I was a little kid because I remember my mother giving me the advice, “think what the worst thing that could happen would be. Then ask yourself what the chances of that really happening are, and if it does happen, will it be all that bad?”

Well, Mom, the worst thing that could happen with HBV is that you could die from it, and that’s pretty bad. So I’ll ask myself, what are the chances of that happening?

A study in China found that 15-40% of those with untreated HBV will eventually develop cirrhosis, liver failure, and/or liver cancer (HCC). The key word here is “untreated.” These days, if we need treatment, there are many choices available to us to help us maintain a low or undetectable HBV viral load.

Research is showing that if we stop or slow the progression of HBV through treatment, we can decrease the risk of serious liver damage and live a normal life span.

Our chances will also increase if we find a good doctor who will monitor our HBV regularly and screen us regularly for HCC. Other good news for those of us with chronic HBV is that liver damage can be reversible with the current medications.

To a great extent, the way people see you and treat you depends on the way you see yourself. So I think I’ll stop worrying about HBV for awhile.

Thanks, Mom.

Best Wishes,
Steve