Download Letter for patients and family members

[Name of MPP]
[Address]
[DATE]
Dear
,
I am a constituent in your riding and I am writing to ask you to lend your voice and support for an
important health issue that has impacted myself and my family.
An estimated 1 in 10 Canadians, or more than three million people, are living with some form of liver
disease. Until I was diagnosed, I was like the majority of Canadians who never gave my liver a second
thought. Unfortunately, dismissing the liver has dangerous consequences for not only individual life
expectancy and quality of life but for the health care system as a whole.
On April 2, 2013, the Canadian Liver Foundation released Liver Disease in Canada: A Crisis in the
Making – the first report of its kind that highlights the missed opportunities for prevention, gaps in care
and the human impact of liver disease. If you have not had a chance to see it, the following is a link to
the report. [LINK]
This report shows that over a period of only eight years, the death rate from liver disease has risen
nearly 30%. And yet, unlike other major diseases, there has been no national strategy put in place for a
public health response to liver disease. The most common forms of liver disease are all on the rise
which means that the increase in death rates from these diseases and their complications will continue
to climb if we maintain the status quo.
I have lived with liver disease for ___ years. My diagnosis came as a surprise since I never would have
thought that I could be at risk. If liver tests were part of regular physicals, my liver disease might have
been diagnosed much earlier. Since most liver diseases have few, if any, symptoms until they reach an
advanced stage, we have to seek it out and treat it if possible. If liver disease remains undiagnosed or
untreated, the consequences may be liver cancer, liver failure or even death. While liver transplants can
save lives, we do not have enough donor organs for everyone and it can cost more than $100,000 for a
transplant – and that doesn’t include the immunosuppressive drugs that are required for life.
Liver disease does not need to be a death sentence. Without a coordinated effort involving investment
and resources for prevention, screening, treatment, patient care and research however, tens of
thousands of Canadians may die needlessly of preventable or treatable liver diseases. – Dr. Morris
Sherman, lead author of Liver Disease in Canada report.
In its report, the Canadian Liver Foundation recommends the development of a national strategy with
short-term and long-term solutions to help defuse this ticking time bomb.
I urge you to talk to the Health Minister and ask that the Canadian Liver Foundation’s report be
reviewed and the recommendations acted upon for the sake of my health and the thousands of
Canadians like me whose liver health is at stake.
Sincerely,