When was the last time you thought about your liver?
May is Hepatitis Awareness month and this year’s campaign is focusing on Hepatitis C. It’s also National Aboriginal Hepatitis C Awareness month and Positive Living North is offering free testing at the Fire Pit Drop-In Centre downtown.
“We’re specifically focusing on Hep C awareness where we’re trying to educate the public about Hep C and getting tested,” says Orlando Mcleish, HIV and Hep C Educator with Positive Living North. “You may have it and not know it – that’s typical with Hep C. You can have it for up to 30 years and have no signs or symptoms.”
It’s estimated that more than 460,000 Canadians have a history of Hepatitis C and somewhere between 220,000 and 246,000 have chronic Hep C. The disease often shows no symptoms until the liver has been severely damaged, which is what makes testing so important.
In BC, somewhere around 80,000 people have the disease.
Hep C is spread by blood and is often associated with injection drug use. But Mcleish says stigmatizing Hep C is dangerous and Positive Living North is working to fight it.
“What we want to do is normalize testing. We don’t want testing to be stigmatized and felt, within a community, that only certain types of person should be tested.”
So they called on members of the Prince George community. “We invited persons from our City Hall and leaders from our community so they could volunteer and do testing,” Mcleish says. “So they could promote the idea of testing, that it’s just a simple easy procedure and nothing to be scared of.”
City councillor Jillian Merrick was one of the ones who answered the call. “I find it personally very tough to get in to the doctor – that’s the biggest step. But all results are good because then you know and [when] it’s a disease that is curable, [you] can take the right steps for [your] health. But sometimes the hardest thing is just getting that appointment and getting that test.”
“Life is full of fears and you can only deal with the fear by dealing with it,” says Loretta Jackson, a registered nurse who works with Dr. Abu Hamour, Prince George’s resident infectious disease specialist. “The first step is to find out if in fact you’re positive.”
Jackson says the prognosis for Hep C has improved over the years.
“We just need people to be aware of Hepatitis C. The thing is, there’s a cure out there now for it. There always has been a cure but with lots of side effects and it was a long long therapy whereas now there’s a much easier treatment.”
Jackson says that everyone should get tested at some point so that they can be treated as quickly as possible if needed.
“People need to be tested. It’s a virus that lives with people for years. Many many people have no idea that they’re positive and so we do urge people to get the testing done and then we can follow up with treatment.”
“There’s other opportunities to get tested and it’s very important that you know because you don’t want to live with this disease,” says Mcleish. “You’re not going to see any signs or symptoms. There’s other opportunities – there will be further testing here at the Fire Pit taking place at the month of May.”
You can find upcoming testing days on Positive Living North’s website. Dr. Humaro’s office also offers tests or you can contact your family doctor.
Something going on in the Prince George area you think people should know about?
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