Resource Type: Blog Post
Six Ways to a Happy Liver
We’re often asked about what causes liver disease. The truth is, liver disease is not caused by a single factor, nor is it discriminatory. The diverse causes of liver disease range from inherited diseases (e.g., hemochromatosis, a common disease of iron overload) to autoimmune causes (e.g., autoimmune hepatitis, primary biliary […]
Meet Julia, One of Canada’s Living Liver Donors
Ahead of National Organ and Tissue Donation Week (April 24 to 30, 2022), we spoke to Julia, a 24-year-old organ donor from Vancouver, British Columbia (BC), to learn more about what it takes to be a living liver donor.
One in a Million – Gonzalo & Manon Fiallos
Gonzalo Fiallos lived a busy life, and admittedly, didn’t take the best care of himself. An extremely heavy drinker, in 2017, Gonzalo started feeling unwell and not his typical self. His health was in a steady decline: he started to gain a lot of weight in his stomach area that […]
Little Warrior: Lillian, Arlene and Tony Bhathal
On November 8, 2010, Arlene and Tony Bhathal welcomed their second child, Lillian. Three weeks postpartum, Lillian’s eyes began to turn yellow and after a visit to the clinic, the pediatrician determined that she was likely suffering from breast milk jaundice. Arlene and Tony immediately switched Lillian over to formula, […]
Butterfly Dancing Woman – Celina Thibault
Celina Thibault has been a volunteer with the Calgary Chapter of the Canadian Liver Foundation for more than 15 years when her journey with liver health began. In 2004, Celina was diagnosed with Primary Biliary Cholangitis (PBC), but the trek to her diagnosis was a challenging one.
The Need for Liver Transplantation: An Examination of Ethnicity and Equity
Liver disease is not a single disease entity, rather, it is a heterogenous group of disorders that ends in liver failure (end-stage cirrhosis over years/decades or less commonly, sudden, unexpected acute liver failure over a short time period) and/or liver cancer. The diverse causes of liver disease range from inherited […]
Interview with Carrie
Carrie is a 66-year-old retired nurse, wife of 41 years, mother to three children and currently lives in a small town outside the city of Ottawa. This past June, Carrie was diagnosed with liver disease while living abroad. Her diagnosis came after a blood test, as a requirement for a […]
Sylvie’s Story
In July 2018, Sylvie Breton was diagnosed with cholangiocarcinoma, a type of cancer that forms in the bile ducts. Sylvie remembers vividly the day of her diagnosis. As an avid cyclist, she was in the midst of a training cycle, cycling about 100 kilometres a day.