I found out 2 yrs ago I had hep c. I know I have had it 35 yrs because my son also has it from birth. I did pegasus/interferon, Ribavarin and a Roche study drug. I was taken off at 22 wks from side effects( blood levels)They want me do to it again in a year or 2. I am 55 yrs. old. My genotype is 1A. Would it do any good to do it again, and if I have already had it this long would there be a point to it? Thank You

Hepatitis C can cause significant hepatitis and scarring after years of infection. Your doctors may be concerned about the amount of scarring of your liver based on your exam or your blood tests or a prior biopsy. You will want to ask that specific question since you are right - not everyone develops disease.

If you do have disease, there is much more information today about monitoring treatment response and improving treatment responses. So retreatment may be reasonable depending on the results of your prior viral load response.

Also, in 3 to 5 years, we will hopefully have other drugs to offer in addition to interferons and ribavirin - like protease inhibitors and polymerase inhibitors, that are being studied actively.