Goals

Your response to therapy is determined by your “viral load”, or number of copies of the virus that can be detected in your blood. Using your hepatitis C genotype, your other labs tests and how you are feeling during therapy, your clinician will keep you informed on how you are progressing and will stop therapy at an appropriate time based on the known data.

The long term goal for hepatitis C treatment is remaining free of the virus for six months after you stop taking the medicines, or having an “undetectable viral load”. Patients who remain free of detectable virus in the blood for at least 6 months after stopping therapy are considered to have a “sustained virological response”. At this important milestone, hepatitis C can be considered cured, since numerous studies have shown the likelihood of relapse after this time is very low (1-2%). However, despite the fact that the medicines today produce better responses than they did even a few years ago, some people still respond only temporarily, or not at all

When you stop therapy you will usually have an appointment at three months and at six months after stopping. We will measure both your liver enzymes and your viral load to see whether or not you had a long-term response to therapy.

Based on your clinician’s recommendations, you will be scheduled for followup appointments according to their assessment of your liver disease at that time.