BOOMERS AT RISK
Liver disease rates soar
Robert Morin remembers the day, 30 years ago, when it hit him: It started with a feeling of pins and needles all over his body and by the end of the day he could barely walk.
Now 52, Morin was a college student at the time. He soon learned he was suffering from a serious liver disease — autoimmune hepatitis — in which his own body was attacking his liver.
The diagnosis was a shock, but the good news was that, with treatment to suppress his immune system, he was told he could expect to lead a normal life for years. He did just that for 22 years until his condition worsened and Morin underwent a liver transplant.
That was eight years ago. Today Morin, a government worker, feels he has a new lease on life. When he can, he raises money for liver research — as he will at the Stroll for Liver event in Ottawa June 9 — and raises awareness about liver disease.
Morin is far from alone. One in four Canadians, eight million people, suffer from some form of liver disease, according to the Canadian Liver Foundation. And liver experts fear many have no idea they are sick.
Dr. Erin Kelly, a liver specialist at The Ottawa Hospital, said many baby boomers are believed to have hepatitis C without knowing it. The Liver Foundation, hepatologists (liver specialists) and others recommend screening all baby boomers for the potentially deadly — but now treatable — disease.
Hepatitis C rates are in decline, Kelly said, since the advent of new drugs that cure the disease in 90 per cent of cases. The bigger problem, she said, is making sure everyone who needs treatment is aware of it and gets it.
Kelly said cirrhosis of the liver is not just related to alcohol, as many people mistakenly believe, but can be caused by numerous factors.
While alcohol-related cirrhosis rates are beginning to plateau in Canada, Kelly said fatty liver disease is reaching “epidemic” levels. “It’s a huge problem.” Associated with obesity, diabetes, high cholesterol and hypertension, fatty liver disease can sometimes cause so much damage that a life-saving liver transplant is needed. Transplants related to fatty liver disease are expected to soon surpass transplants done for alcohol-related cirrhosis, she said.
Cirrhosis of the liver is not just related to alcohol, as many people believe, but can be caused by numerous factors.
Other leading causes of transplants continue to be viral hepatitis and alcohol-related liver disease.
The Canadian Liver Foundation says Canada’s health system is not prepared to deal with rising rates of liver disease, which are an increasingly common cause of hospitalization.
Morin, who heard from his liver donor’s family and has responded, said he works at raising awareness about liver disease, because he knows how lucky he is to have a second chance at life.
“I am so happy. I have an excellent life.”