Is there a life expectancy with WG ANCA positive?

[lilyloo]

[Ayla Volunteer]

Yes, and the news is good, Lilyloo!

Here I am quoting John Mills, the Vasculitis UK chairman who says in the introduction the the 'Route Map for Vasculitis',

'Provided that the disease is recognised and diagnosed correctly at an early stage and is then treated appropriately and effectively, most patients make a good recovery and, with adequate ongoing care, continue to have a good quality of life and a normal life expectancy.'

Ayla

[John_Mills Volunteer]

Hi Lilyloo,

I'm afraid that the bad news is that there is a life expectancy for those of us with WG, but the not so bad news is that alhough we Weggies are very special, we are not immortal but can still live a long time - and it's getting better.

But I guess you really meant "is there a reduced life expectancy" - and you want a proper answer. We met a lady a few weeks ago who had had WG for 40 years (including having 2 children) but she is unusual, because until about 1975, most people with WG did not live for long, so there are not records going back much before that. It is also made more confusing statistically because the average age of people getting WG is in mid-late 50s, so by normal standards they are only likely to have a life expectancy of 25-30 years anyway.

The good news is that with modern treatment and and a healthy lifestyle there's no reason to expect anything much less than normal life expectancy.

[lilyloo in reply to John_Mills]

Thank you so much for coming back to me, my mum was diagnosed in Jan with WG Anca Positive after a stroke. I think I misread something and it made me panic!