People can live with hepatitis C without symptoms or feeling sick. Left untreated, hepatitis C can cause serious liver damage and even liver cancer. The good news is treatments can cure hepatitis C.
Screening at Canyonlands Healthcare
The CDC now recommends one-time hepatitis C testing of all adults (18 years and older) and all pregnant women during every pregnancy. CDC continues to recommend that people with risk factors, including people who inject drugs, be tested regularly.
Hep C screening can be done at your local Canyonlands Healthcare in Page, Beaver Dam, Chilchinbeto, Globe, Safford, Duncan, and Clifton.
Call Samantha Gonzales, Hepatitis C Coordinator at 928-428-1500 ext 3316, to make an appointment.
Our quick and easy HCV rapid test will screen for a positive or negative antibody within 30 minutes. If the antibody is positive then we will get the patient scheduled with the Hepatitis C Program Director:
Sara Bennett, DNP, FNP-C
Family Nurse Practitioner
Hepatitis C Program Director
How is it Spread?
Hep C is usually spread when someone comes into contact with blood from infected person. This can happen through sharing IV needles, razors, toothbrushes, and intranasal equipment with an infected person. Also common in people who have received unprofessional tattoos, blood transfusion prior to 1992, and who have received dental work prior to cleaning guidelines.
Needle Sharing and Opioids
The most common way hepatitis C is transmitted today is through needle sharing for drug use. When people become addicted to prescription opiates and then lose access to those drugs, they may turn to heroin, and sharing needles for heroin use is linked to hepatitis C infection. If you have a history of drug use, that could pose a risk of infection. Visit opioid-help.org
There is No Vaccine for Hepatitis C
The best way to prevent hepatitis C is by avoiding behaviors that can spread the disease, especially injecting drugs. Getting tested for hepatitis C is important, because treatments can cure most people in 8 to 12 weeks.
Treatment
Hepatitis C virus is treated with oral antiviral medications usually taken once per day. These antiviral medications are extremely good at attacking the virus and preventing it from multiplying. The medication has no or very little side effects such as, a slight headache or fatigue.
The purpose of taking antiviral medications for hepatitis C is to:
- remove (or clear) all the hepatitis C virus from your body permanently
- stop or slow down the damage to your liver
- reduce the risk of developing cirrhosis (advanced scarring of the liver)
- reduce the risk of developing liver cancer (hepatocellular carcinoma)
- reduce the risk of liver failure and the need for a liver transplant
If I test positive, will I have access to a physician?
Heather Crane, Hepatitis C Program Director, reviews all Hepatitis cases with Dr. Richard Manch, Hepatologist, and will order the appropriate lab work to determine if a patient needs treatment. All Hep C positive patients have access to Dr. Richard Manch.
What is the fee?
Hep C testing is covered by most health insurance plans. If you have no insurance, you may apply for our sliding fee discount program and the cost would be anywhere from $10.00 – $50.00.
How do I get screened?
Samantha Gonzales
Hep C Coordinator, Canyonlands Healthcare
928-428-1500 ext 3316
