Thelma King Thiel, RN, BA

A mother recounts her newborn son's fatal battle with cirrhosis reminding people of the importance of health and education about this vital organ.

Your liver silently powers and protects your body every day, but untreated hepatitis infections, excessive alcohol, and poor diet can destroy its vital cells, leading to fatigue, cirrhosis, and liver cancer if not prevented through awareness and care.

It is important to recognize this organ that has multiple life-enhancing functions.

This upcoming Sunday, July 28, is this year’s World Hepatitis Day and it is an opportunity to raise awareness, deliver education to the masses, and continue to support the research and treatments to reduce the incidence rates of the infection.

The liver’s under appreciated hepatocytes play a role in helping in to keep the body healthy, so be good to it so you won’t contract liver-related diseases such as hepatitis or other conditions.

On the day of a FDA PDUFA for a hepatitis B vaccine, it serves as reminder of great progress, but there remains a need to proliferate education especially around the liver.

Please join advocates for prevention to celebrate the miracles the liver performs in maintaining the bodies’ systems, and ways to increase education to the public about the organ.

In thinking about the international and national public health campaigns to eliminate hepatitis, is general awareness of the disease enough to motivate treatment-hesitant hepatitis patients to accept clinical care, or does there need to be a greater commitment beyond that?

This month is a time to reflect on the past, but understand there remains issues that need to be addressed today.

Drawing parallels between liver health and everyday choices, such as diet, alcohol consumption, and drug use, can help individuals take responsibility for their actions and their overall well-being.

There is a lack of information and teaching going on with this significant, but "silent" organ.

Associated with excessive alcohol use, cirrhosis is one condition that can affect the pediatric population in the absence of alcohol.

With low vaccine utilization rates, finding educational resources to inform the public and increase attention to this preventative measure is needed to increase vaccinations.

This day reflects the importance of remembering people who have been affected by the disease as well as a reminder to remain safe and get tested.

Liver education has been void in the school systems and children and young adults stand to gain enormously when provided with awareness around this essential organ.

In a guest commentary, Thelma Thiel, RN, Cofounder of The Liver Health Initiative provides a personal perspective on her son’s liver issues and the importance of why everyone should get tested for HCV.

Education is vital to this group and can help in working towards reducing viral hepatitis.

May marks Hepatitis Awareness Month. There is a lot to be thankful for, as there has been a lot of inroads made in terms of curative therapy, vaccine development, and now the federal government is putting a major emphasis on getting people into the continuum of care. Still education is needed to help prevent the silent killer.

In this guest commentary, Thelma King Thiel, RN, co-founder and chair of the Liver Health Initiative talks about the link between viral hepatitis and liver cancer as well as the need for public awareness to take preventative steps towards trying to prevent both of them.

In this guest editorial, the author talks about the challenges associated with dealing with both health issues.

Seniors are at increased risk of hepatitis B, hepatitis C, and HIV. Prevention and early detection of potential infection are critical to avoiding long-term impact.

Liver health education seems to be absent from the final draft of the National Academy of Science's Strategy for Eliminating Viral Hepatitis B & C.

Elimination of viral hepatitis depends on individuals actively participating in their own healthcare and management. They can only do this if they understand why and how to protect their miraculous, life-sustaining liver from harm. Education is the key to prevention.