Local Patients Denied Lifesaving Treatment

ALTOONA - Imagine being diagnosed with a deadly disease that can be cured, but you can't get the treatment. More than 100 patients in our region and millions across the country, with Hepatitis C face that frightening situation. Treatments that can reverse the virus  cost about $1,000 a pill.

A tattoo changed a Bedford County man's life. Mike Miller got it done a few years ago by a friend and  last August he found out he'd also gotten the hepatitis C virus. He's tired, he has abdominal pain and his joints ache. He says, "there are just days that I don't feel like getting out of bed."

Fortunately, tests show Mike is still in the early stages of Hep. C.  His blood doesn't show a high number of infected cells and he doesn't have cirrhosis of the liver. So, he doesn't qualify for treatment that could keep the disease from progressing. 

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