Patient Stories

I was born with Biliary Atresia. I was dealt an unfair hand but have never viewed it that way and because of that I am the person I am today.

This staff assistant is a member of the U.S. House of Representatives and also has the beginnings of a disease that killed his father: non-alcoholic fatty liver disease (NAFLD).

The American Liver Foundation presents this compelling story of patient Barb Pitts who was diagnosed with liver cancer. This interview is for those who seek to understand more about liver cancer.

I’ll never forget the look on the resident’s face when she entered our hospital room with the attending physician. At that moment we were informed our perfect baby had Biliary Atresia.

A biopsy of my liver revealed that I was suffering from PBC. I was given medication to help slow the progression of the disease.

On Mother’s Day weekend, I was diagnosed with breast cancer. Leading up to my double mastectomy, I had to have a series of blood work done. That’s where they discovered my elevated liver enzymes.

As an infant I was diagnosed with Biliary Atresia, underwent the Kasai procedure, and had my gallbladder removed.

My liver was in trouble. I learned that the ducts from the liver that deliver bile to the intestines had become damaged. There was a good possibility my liver would eventually fail.

I was admitted to the local hospital for bleeding varices. I underwent surgery to stop the bleeding and was told I could possibly get a liver within the next few days.

I was born with the liver disease known as Biliary Atresia. My parent’s first suspected something was wrong when they noticed that my skin and eyes were yellowing.

I had difficulty with my memory and I began to experience loss of appetite, lethargy and difficulty concentrating. All the symptoms that I know now to be of liver failure.

Ten years earlier, Jack was diagnosed with alpha-1 antitrypsin deficiency, an inherited disorder that can ultimately lead to liver failure.