Karen Hoyt is a blogger who has a story about hepatitis C, cirrhosis, end-stage liver disease, liver cancer, and liver transplantation. This excerpt first appeared on Karen’s I Help C blog.

Sometimes I read emails just before going to bed – you know, when my mind is too tired to think. One came in a few weeks ago that I gave a really polite answer to. A man had written in about how he had just been diagnosed with the advanced liver disease from the Hepatitis C Virus. His story was like mine in that he was already stage 3 liver cirrhosis. Read about Hep C is not the end here


I heard the weariness in his words as he talked about –

working long hours every day and

worried about his diet and

wasn’t sure what was safe to eat and

what did I know about getting Hep C treatment because he

worked for a small company with no health insurance and his boss

was threatening to fire him because he worked slow sometimes.

What do you say to that?

Well, I emailed him encouraging things with lots of words like hope, strength, and protein. Yup, you know how I talk.

I got out my pen this morning and began making notes about a liver loving diet. I do it every day. My book is full of it. It’s the best way I know how to help people….like our best friend who emailed me. Because if he eats right, he will have more energy and less brain fog

which can lead to him completing a project on the job and

wind up with his boss getting off his back

which won’t help him get treatment, but may help him to feel good enough to stand up for himself.

Click here to read Karen’s insights and words of encouragement.