Hi, Bearhug! I'm glad you found us! Welcome! I was diagnosed with hep C in '93 (thus my screen name.) At that time, the only treatment was interferon. I tried it, but after about 6 wks. was taken off treatment by my doc due to very low white counts. Prior to taking me off, he had tried cutting it from 3 to 2 x a week and also cutting the dosage, but the white counts still remained very low. I tried it again a couple of months later, but the same thing happened. At the time, I was where you are--no effects from the hep except for fatigue, which is why I was tested in the first place. Anyway, I went on my way with no treatment. I had blood work every 6 mos. and a sonogram once a year. A sonogram in '95 revealed a VERY large tumor in the right lobe of my liver, thought to be HCC (hepatocellular carcinoma.) It was. Long story short, there was nothing they could do at Shands, so I went to Mayo. Mayo literally saved my life through chemoembolization and a study drug, TheraSphere, to shrink the tumor. It had metastasized to the inferior vena cava, but the treatments shrunk it back into the main tumor. They were then able to operate to remove the entire rt. lobe of my liver. At that time, they also did a biopsy of the left lobe and found cirrhosis.
It has been nearly 2 yrs. that I have been cancer free. I am genotype 1, also, and am on the fence about treatment. It would be the best thing to do to prevent a recurrence of cancer, but it is a very rough thing to go through. As your doctor probably told you, genotype 1 is the most difficult to treat. In addition, treatment only works in about 50% of cases. So the odds are not great. However, if you want to give yourself a shot at a longer, healthier life, then treatment is something to seriously consider. You don't say how old you are (I'm 66), but that can also play into your decision.
Do your research and I hope you are led to the decision that will be best for you. Please post and let us know what you decided and how you are doing.