Hepatitis is a disease that causes inflammation of the liver, which can lead to permanent damage over time. It can be caused by many things, and affect your body in different ways.

Hepatitis C is caused by a virus, and is spread through infected blood. It isn't spread through everyday activities like shaking hands or hugging, or by sharing eating utensils.

Many people with hepatitis C don't have any noticeable symptoms at first. But some people do have things like pain on the right side, or feeling tired all the time. Although hepatitis C can cause damage to your liver, catching it early will give your body a better chance to respond to treatment.

Hepatitis C is currently treated with combination therapy of peginterferon and ribavirin. Whether or not your treatment is successful will depend on several factors, such as:

* The type of virus you have,

* The amount of virus in your body,

* And the amount of liver damage that's already been done.

You have been given a lot of information to think about, and discuss with your healthcare providers. We hope that this information will be helpful as you and your healthcare providers decide together what's best for your situation.