Catherine's Story: A 50-year-old nurse with 20 years of experience at PGH hospital
Catherine, a nurse at PGH Hospital, discovered she had chronic hepatitis B two years ago when she had symptoms of fatigue, jaundice and pain in the liver area. Tests showed HBsAg > 1900 IU/L, high ALT/AST liver enzymes (155/145 U/L), and F2 liver fibrosis.
After changing her diet and using a special nutritional milk for hepatitis patients, her health improved significantly:
1 month: Less tired, better appetite.
2 months: HBsAg decreased to 600 IU/L, liver enzymes decreased to 70/65 U/L.
4 months: HBsAg decreased to 100 IU/L, liver enzymes returned to normal level below 40 U/L, liver recovered significantly.
In the Philippines, liver diseases are a significant health concern. A study indicated that liver diseases accounted for 27.3 cases per 1,000 deaths in the country.
—Hepatitis B is particularly prevalent, with approximately 10% of Filipinos living with chronic Hepatitis B.
—Additionally, Non-Alcoholic Fatty Liver Disease affects about 10-20% of the population, with an estimated 18 million more at risk due to obesity and overweight conditions.
This result surprised her greatly. When she met Dr. Gerardo D. Legaspi, Director of PGH Hospital, he affirmed that the liver can recover if properly cared for and encouraged her to share her story to help more people.
Currently, Catherine is healthy, continues to drink this nutritional milk to protect her liver and shares her experience with those who are fighting hepatitis B.