Natalie Cole, 58, Has Hepatitis C

The Press Association says Natalie Cole, 58, has revealed that she has liver disease in the form of Hepatitis C. It is thought that she contracted the illness from past drug addictions including cocaine, LSD, and heroine.

I am old enough to remember Nat King Cole. The silky-smooth voiced crooner's rendition of "Unforgettable" is more than a standard; it is a classic, no, "the" classic.

Nat King Cole was a heavy smoker and died at the age of 45 of lung cancer. His daughter, Natalie, was 15. She was soon to be a Grammy winner in her own right.

Remembering that she was 15 back in the early 1970s, it is not difficult to believe she could fall victim to a drug problem, especially trying to cope with the loss of her father.

The Press Association goes on to report that she beat the drugs in 1984 after an extended stay in a rehab facility but even so, the drugs still may be responsible for her current condition.

Cole has developed reasonably severe side-effects in the form of fatigue, muscle aches and dehydration.

"Natalie has had a terrific response to medication...is now virus negative...but she has also suffered significant side effects from the anti-viral medication," said Dr. Graham Woolf, associate clinical professor at the U.S. UCLA/Cedars-Sinai Medial Centre, according to the Press Association.

According to FamilyDoctor.org, Hepatitis C is a viral invasion of the liver creating a chronic inflammation. There are two other types but they are temporary, A and B.

People typically do not know that they have been infected with Hepatitis C for a long time; the liver just continues to deteriorate.

When someone has had it long enough then symptoms may begin to appear including jaundice and aches and weakness.

The causes, according to FamilyDoctor.org, include being infected with the blood of a person who already has the illness. Most often this occurs while sharing needles during drug use.

Cole does remain upbeat, according to The Press Association: "I am committed to my belief in myself and in my abiding faith to meet this challenge."

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