Why I am changing my fundraising effort for the Chicago Marathon

Here is an email I got from the Community Program Director for the American Liver Foundation's Illinois Chapter about why it is important to raise money for liver diseases and disorders.

Did You Know?

• Over four million Americans are affected by Hepatitis C. Many are unaware that this virus is destroying their liver. Treatments can be effective but in many instances, transplantation is required. Many who have the Hepatitis C virus are victims of the lack of a blood screening process prior to 1992. Blood was not screened for this virus and life saving medical procedures actually caused its spread.

• The incidence of liver disease in infants is estimated to be as high as 1 in every 1,800 births. Biliary Atresia, one of the most serious diseases among infants, is an inflammation of the ducts which carry bile from the liver into the intestine. There is no cure.

• Alpha-1 - antitrypsin deficiency is a hereditary disease that may lead to hepatitis and cirrhosis. It is the most common genetic cause of liver disease in children. The protein alpha-1- antitrypsin is a substance made in the liver. It plays an important role in preventing the breakdown of enzymes in various organs of the body. There is no cure.

• Primary Biliary Cirrhosis, a chronic liver disease that causes slow, progressive destruction of bile ducts in the liver, affects primarily women. There is no cure.

• Men normally suffer from Primary Sclerosing Cholangitis, a liver disease in which the bile ducts inside and outside the liver become narrowed due to inflammation and scarring. There is no cure.

• Approximately 1.25 million people are infected with hepatitis B. Nearly three in every four new cases of hepatitis B are reported in a person between the ages of 15 and 39.