Winnipeg Free Press

Winnipeg Free Press (Newspaper) - June 05, 2012, Winnipeg, Manitoba C M Y K PAGE A11 I N many ways, living with hepatitis C is similar to living with HIV - both are viruses that begin with a dormant stage, but then they attack the human body and eventually kill you unless they are treated. Treatments for hep C and HIV are quite similar, too. Both are highly invasive, but there is a 55 to 70 per cent success rate in ridding the body of the hep C virus entirely, while there is no " cure" for HIV. In other words, you live with the HIV virus and keep it under control with a drug, hoping it won't eventually become full- blown AIDS ( and now there are even plenty of people living with AIDS because of a " prescription drug cocktail" which prevents the body's immune system from failing) But I am told a big difference has developed between the experiences of HIV and hep C patients recently. According to one of Manitoba's top liver specialists, Dr. Kelly Kaita, people who have hep C are living with a social stigma people with other treatable illnesses have been able to manage or overcome more effectively. Kaita says people with hep C are especially reluctant to talk about their illness. And that's what is making it a stigma. About 250,000 Canadians have hepatitis C. The virus is spread through the blood so most victims got the illness from blood transfusions, before we started testing for it, and many were infected by sharing needles. No matter how you got it, you are sick and should be treated as such. The most effective treatment for is a 48- week regimen that consists of a weekly injection of interferon and daily ribavirin pills ( two or three in the morning and the same at night). The big problem is this treatment is a monster that knocks you on your arse. There are about 150 possible side- effects. Most patients can expect to experience about 35 of them, and the most common are flu- like symptoms. Not just feeling " light- headed" or " off your game" but knock ' em down and drag ' em out influenza - painful, aching joints, nausea that keeps you flat on your back in bed, fever, chills, dry heaves, headaches of the migraine kind and so on. The more exotic side- effects include something called lichen planis, a horrible fungal infection that literally slices your tongue to shreds and turns your cheeks and gums red with a painful pimply rash. Most people who decide to undergo this treatment have to make arrangements to take an extended leave from work or have a big enough savings account to cover living expenses for six months to a year. All of this becomes more difficult because, according to Dr. Kaita, patients with hep C are extremely reluctant to talk about it. Maybe it's because AIDS attracted such high- profile support after it became known how devastating the effects of this killer illness were. At first it was " confined" to the gay community. Hollywood stars such as Elizabeth Taylor ( and others who knew how powerful gays are in the film and television industry) created awareness and raised funds for research. And when AIDS began to spread to heterosexuals, basketball star Magic Johnson jumped up and educated people about the dangers of unprotected sex while also making people aware of how simple it can be to prevent the spread of AIDS if you take some basic precautions. Somehow hepatitis C got lost in the shuffle. Hep C is only spread through the blood. Since it is socially accepted that people should protect themselves during sex, and there are sanitary reasons for not sharing a razor blade or even a toothbrush, it is easy to keep hep C to yourself in every way. Some patients have said they have experienced budding romantic or sexual relationships cool as soon as they tell their prospective partner they have the virus. Co- workers and casual, even close friends, start to whisper about you if you share your experience. So they suffer in silence. And isolation. The hep C virus can lie dormant for years - 20 to 30 is the average - but inevitably it will attack your liver until this vital organ is so damaged you need a transplant or you die from liver disease or cancer. When hep C becomes active, you stop being active, because along with all the other hepatitis symptoms ( jaundice, tender abdomen, etc.), you are extremely tired all the time. And the treatment makes you just as sick, and it is just as debilitating. You become undependable, and you can only make so any excuses for missing work or the social events you used to attend so reliably. Dr. Kaita feels there is a need to remind people that hep C affects a lot of our fellow Canadians and they are going through hell trying to deal with it. They don't need a social stigma on top of all of that. Don Marks is a freelance writer based in Winnipeg who is presently being treated for hep C but asks for no sympathy or understanding because he is routinely unreliable and has been blessed with some good friends. Necessary correction Re: NDP should raise tax, get out of the way ( June 2). I agree wholeheartedly with the second sentiment in the headline of David Asper's article. On the first sentiment, however, Manitoba's provincial administration has proven beyond any reasonable doubt that taxation past a certain point will in fact decrease tax revenues and in turn not reduce debt nor enhance effective public services. They've also proven they cannot " get out of the way." The evidence: our massive debt load ( increasing exponentially every year) and the fact that more people and businesses are leaving this province. There is a direct connect between the two. The fact that Asper advocated increased taxes and was applauded for promoting it is further evidence of the real problem in this province: our apathetic electorate and business community. If even our business community is supportive of his proposal, we are headed for darker times indeed. Our provincial administration has proven it can't be trusted with our tax revenues, given that it has shown no signs of applying the real needed correction: immediate slashing of government spending. If you want to increase tax revenues, cut the waste. Decrease the cost of doing business in Manitoba and the rejuvenated private sector will respond with more tax revenue and real cash to repair our infrastructure. DAVID OWENS Winnipeg �� So did David Asper look to his past business skills in order to make him an advocate for raising the PST or is this just the musings of a law professor? CLIVE RUSSELL Winnipeg �� Re: One per cent solution is 100 per cent lazy ( June 2). I concur fully with Shannon Martin's article. It is very easy for big business, organized labour and David Asper to call for such an increase. Would they by any chance profit by such an increase? Have these organizations given any thought to what this would mean to the poor, to seniors and to middle- income earners? We have already been hit by increases in the motor vehicle fee, the fuel tax, the property tax, the insidious frontage levy and the ever- increasing education tax. It is my hope that the government will hold firm in denying an increase in the PST. This would only add to the burden of those who can least afford it. AURISE KONDZIELA Winnipeg �� If infrastructure is the emergent issue the unions say it is, perhaps a better solution would be to implement tolls for each of the projects that are in such dire need of extra funding. At least this way the users pay the cost and the money generated can be controlled to a specific cause and not simply added to the general squander fund. Once the project is paid for, then the toll can come off. MICHAEL CROOKS Winnipeg �� When the provincial government increases our sales tax from seven to eight per cent, we will soon see eight workers on the side of the road leaning up against a shovel instead of seven. DEREK J. WRIGLEY Winnipeg Heartening support Re: Gay rights making tremendous strides ( Sunday Extra, June 3 ) . As a member of the lesbian, gay, bisexual, transgender, two- spirit, queer and questioning community and a participant in Pride 25, I was heartened to see so many people out supporting the community, including many persons of faith, and celebrating how far we have come as a society. Although our legal rights have come a long way, we still have a long way to go with regard to attitudes. Many members of the community need to really think before we are willing to walk down the street holding the hand of the person we love, something others never have to think about. Homophobia, biphobia and transphobia are still alive and well in the world today and although we celebrate how far we have come, we know there is much work still left to do. PATRICK WOODBECK Winnipeg �� Re: Great time to show the pride ( June 4). The comments St. Boniface MP Shelly Glover made about her anger at the politicization of the gay pride parade were out of place. Pride parades are inherently political. Gay, lesbian, transsexual, transgender, intersex, two- spirit and queer people have had to fight for legal protections and equality, and discrimination still exists. There is nothing wrong with Andrew Swan announcing the fact that the Progressive Conservatives have consistently opposed protections for this community ( even the provincial human rights code protects sexual orientation). This was my first year at Pride to support this community. I do not believe that the number of times one attends a Pride parade is indicative of the amount of support one has for sexual rights and equality. GILLIAN HANSON Winnipeg Forewarned, forearmed Re: Branson blog raises B. C. government's ire ( May 30). For a man who, until recently, claims that he doesn't use a computer, Sir Richard Branson's tasteless Internet blog has me feeling a bit puzzled. Branson is well- known for his flamboyantly brash market- savvy style, so it's no surprise that he owns an airline called Virgin and vacations on a Caribbean island known as Necker Island. If B. C. Premier Christy Clark does consider the offer to visit his peachy island paradise, I would advise her to go fully chaperoned and armed with a good supply of pepper spray. DON WARKENTIN Winnipeg Understandable travel Re: Knight rides to rescue chivalry ( June 4). It is not so passing strange that with all the systemic governmental corruption, civil disorder, religious alienation and continuing ethnic nationalism, Vincent Gabriel Kirouac should leave his home province on horseback in quest of chivalry elsewhere. It's apparently been absent from Quebec for some time. MARK S. RASH Winnipeg A scary thought Re: Media monsters ( June 2) Mike McIntyre's article was very interesting, yet very disturbing. The thought that these " evil monsters" will, at some point, be eligible for parole is downright scary. This report clearly identifies the need for the federal minister of justice to open the debate on capital punishment for killers who commit heinous, repugnant first- degree murders. Recent statistics show the majority of Canadians favour this action. TERRY MEINDL Teulon HAVE YOUR SAY: The Free Press welcomes letters from readers. Include the author's name, address and telephone number. Letters may be edited. Letters to the Editor, 1355 Mountain Avenue, Winnipeg, R2X 3B6. Fax 697- 7412. Email letters@ freepress. mb. ca Letters represent the opinions of their writers and do not reflect the opinions of the Winnipeg Free Press or its staff. �� LETTERS OF THE DAY Re: Federal health program ensures fairness for all ( June 1). Jason Kenney comments: " But this government does not expect hard- working taxpayers to pay for health benefits for failed refugee claimants that they themselves do not receive." I agree, but it appears fine with this government for hard- working taxpayers to pay for outlandish MP pensions that they themselves do not receive. Perhaps Kenney should have a look in his own house if he's looking for fairness. TIMOTHY CONNELL Carman �� Minister Jason Kenney has entirely missed the point again and seems to not be well- informed about the different classes of refugees. His article refers mostly to refugee claimants. Tom Denton's May 17 article ( They aren't all ' bogus' refugees, as portrayed by Kenney ) spoke mostly to the plight of privately sponsored refugees whom the government has already " blessed" before they ever arrive in Canada. The refugees who will be the most negatively affected by the cuts to the interim federal health program are the ones who have just arrived from refugee camps and who have not had health care for many years. They will need some basic care for the first year, which is why it is an interim program. JIM MAIR Winnipeg 100% 90% 80% 70% 60% 50% 40% 30% 20% 10% 0% Winnipeg Free Press Tuesday, June 5 , 2012 A 11 POLL �� TODAY'S QUESTION Will you be watching the transit of Venus this afternoon? �� Vote online at winnipegfreepress. com �� PREVIOUS QUESTION Do you think the British monarchy is relevant today? YES 40% NO 60% TOTAL RESPONSES 5,019 Winnipeg Free Press est 1872 / Winnipeg Tribune est 1890 VOL 140 NO 202 2012 Winnipeg Free Press, a division of FP Canadian Newspapers Limited Partnership. Published seven days a week at 1355 Mountain Avenue, Winnipeg, Manitoba R2X 3B6, PH: 697- 7000 BOB COX / Publisher MARGO GOODHAND / Editor JULIE CARL / Deputy Editor Federal ministers Jason Kenney ( left) and Vic Toews in Ottawa on May 30. In search of fairness T O some, New York Mayor Michael Bloomberg's idea to limit soda sizes in restaurants, food carts, delis and movie theatres seems like the definition of a predatory, nanny- state mandate. Why target sugary drinks when they are just one part of a huge problem? Why limit consumer choice in the process? But on the other side is the astonishing fact 36 per cent of Americans are excessively overweight, treatment for which costs the country $ 190 billion a year. In a very real sense, obese Americans' lifestyle choices cost everyone. And a primary driver of America's obesity problem since the 1970s has been over- consuming sugary drinks. Sugary drinks have been the largest single contributor to the increase in Americans' caloric consumption over the past three decades. Soft drinks deliver roughly half the added sugar in the average American's diet. But some Americans consume much more than others. Teenage boys, for example, now drink an average of 273 calories in sugary drinks every day. And, unlike with solid bad- for- you foods, public- health experts theorize that people don't tend to cut back on calories elsewhere after consuming a lot of soda. That is among the reasons it's unsurprising that consuming sugary drinks is associated with weight gain and diabetes. So, policies aimed at discouraging overconsumption of sugary soft drinks can make sense, as long as they are part of a broader, comprehensive anti- obesity effort to improve eating and exercise habits. Bloomberg's approach is a particularly intrusive attempt at that. He plans to limit soda cup sizes to 16 ounces, though he would not limit the number of cups New Yorkers could buy, which means soda fiends can still get their fix if they are determined to do so. The proposal relies on the notion that portion size can serve as a cue to change behaviour, whether by indicating what a reasonable serving of soda looks like, or by simply defining when diners should feel " done" with their drinks. That is not the first approach we would try. First, it's full of holes, including the fact it doesn't regulate soft- drink bottle size. New Yorkers might nevertheless bristle at the government mandate and, Cornell's Brian Wansink suggests, save little patience for better anti- soda policies in the future, particularly if waistlines in the city don't decline dramatically. Requiring clearer in- store warnings about health risks, for example, would be a less intrusive place to start. Still, we are happy to see Bloomberg experimenting with serious policies to address obesity, which is more than can be said about most of America's politicians, and we hope he succeeds. Even if Bloomberg's plan fails to make much of a difference, it should be taken as an invitation for like- minded policy makers to try different approaches. DON MARKS OTHER OPINION The Washington Post Limiting the size of sodas is at least a start Time to get hep C out of the closet A_ 11_ Jun- 05- 12_ FP_ 01. indd A11 6/ 4/ 12 9: 26: 14 PM ;