edition
4
JAn 2010
support
group
come along to our hep c support groups
in 2009
3rd Tuesday of every month
support group 3rd Tuesday of every month Last group for 2009 - 17 November come and hear about
begins march 17 2009 6pm - 8pm*
food supplied
hepatitis c council level 1 - 349 crown st
surry hills
for more info ph: 1800 803 990 suppprt group oct 09.indd 1
28/10/2009 9:14:33 AM
a quick guide to
TM ed 4.indd 1
23/12/2009 11:00:14 AM
be our friend on
EDITOR Scott West
EDITORIAL COMMITTEE Tim Baxter Kay Bazley Jennifer Daylight Jenny Douglas Conor Durkin Paul Harvey Rebecca Miers Sonam Paljor Ronald Prince Gideon Warhaft
CONTRIBUTING WRITERS
www.facebook.com/ transmissionmag
Jennifer Mills www.jenjen.com.au
CONTRIBUTING ARTISTS
AND
Marty Schneider www.martyschneider.com.au
Skye Ogden www.skyeogden.com www.gestaltcomics.com
SPECIAL THANKS Niki Parry SWOP (Sex Workers Outreach Project)
follow us on
Hepatitis NSW is an independent, community-based, non-profit, membership organisation. We are funded by the NSW Health Department ph: (02) 9332 1853 fax: (02) 9332 1730
www.twitter.com/ transmissionmag TRANSMISSIONMAG
Hepatitis Helpline ph: 1800 803 990 postal address: PO Box 432
DARLINGHURST NSW 1300 AUSTRALIA
www.hep.org.au TM ed 4.indd 2
23/12/2009 11:00:17 AM
contents
page 4
We’ll be back...
page 5
Sandra In The City
page 13
page 17
page 22
page 30
a quick guide to
Question & Answer Do I have to pay for hep C treatment?
TRANSMISSION
TM ed 4.indd 3
3
23/12/2009 11:00:26 AM
Back in may 2010
we will be back in may 2010 To make TRANSMISSION MAGAZINE as good as it can be for all our readers, we will be doing an evaluation in early 2010. This means we will be trying to find out what you think of the magazine and how we can make it more interesting for you. If you would like to be involved in the evaluation by telling us what you think, contact us (details below) we would love to hear your thoughts and ideas.
sms: 0404 440 103 ph: 1800 803 990
transmission@hep.org.au
Our next edition will be May 2010 until then become our facebook friend and follow us on twitter to tell us what you think of the magazine and how it can be better!
TRANSMISSION
TM ed 4.indd 4
4 23/12/2009 11:00:29 AM
TRANSMISSION
TM ed 4.indd 5 swop_comic.indd 1
5
23/12/2009 11:00:31 AM 12/22/09 2:08 PM
TRANSMISSION
TM ed 4.indd 6 swop_comic.indd 2
6 23/12/2009 11:00:33 AM 12/22/09 2:08 PM
TRANSMISSION
TM ed 4.indd 7
7
23/12/2009 11:00:34 AM
TRANSMISSION
TM ed 4.indd 8
8 23/12/2009 11:00:36 AM
TRANSMISSION
TM ed 4.indd 9
9
23/12/2009 11:00:38 AM
TRANSMISSION
10
TM ed 4.indd 10 swop_comic.indd 6
23/12/2009 11:00:42 AM 12/22/09 2:09 PM
TRANSMISSION
TM ed 4.indd 11
11
23/12/2009 11:00:47 AM
TRANSMISSION
TM ed 4.indd 12
12 23/12/2009 11:00:49 AM
The liver is the biggest organ in your body and has over 500 jobs to do. one of those jobs is to break down alcohol so that is safer for your body.
90 -98%
About of alcohol that you drink is broken down (processed) in your liver. The more alcohol that you drink, the longer it takes for your liver to break it down. on average it takes the body 1 hour to process 1 standard drink. TRANSMISSION
TM ed 4.indd 13
13
23/12/2009 11:00:56 AM
A standard drink contains 10 grams of pure alcohol. these days, drink sizes are often more than one standard drink. The label on an alcoholic drink tells you the number of standard drinks it has.
1 Standard drink =
285 m l beer (full strength)
TRANSMISSION
TM ed 4.indd 14
100 ml wine
30 ml spirits
14 23/12/2009 11:01:04 AM
hep C is a virus that can cause your liver to become inflamed or swollen. Drinking too much alcohol can also make your liver inflamed or swollen.
if you have hep c, drinking alcohol may increase damage to your liver
If you have hep C and drink alcohol, your risk of developing liver damage is higher.
The best thing to keep your liver healthy is to stop drinking alcohol or to really cut down the amount of alcohol you drink.
If you want to have hep C treatment, your doctor might recommend that you don’t drink alcohol at all. This may increase your chances of treatment working for you. If you drink alcohol while on hep C treatment the treatment might not work as well. TRANSMISSION
TM ed 4.indd 15
15
23/12/2009 11:01:10 AM
There is no level of drinking alcohol that can be completely ‘safe’ or ‘no risk’ To reduce the risk of long term damage from drinking alcohol, the Australian Government guidelines say... men and women should not drink more than two (2) standard drinks per day if on any occasion, you do drink over this limit, you should not drink more than four (4) standard drinks in a day
Binge drinking means drinking lots of alcohol over a short period of time or drinking continuously over a number of days or weeks. Binge Drinking can lead to long-term health problems especially with your liver. ve hep C, if you ha your k about l a t d l u tor you sho ith a doc w e s u l or you alcoho t is ok f a h w t u to find o
t info abou for more nd hep C e alcohol a is helplin it t a p e h call the 03 990 PH: 1800 8 TRANSMISSION
16
TM ed 4.indd 16
23/12/2009 11:01:14 AM
C s i t i t a p he
*
t a dummy o n e ’r u o y w o n k * we
a quick guide to
17 17
TRANSMISSION TRANSMISSION
TM ed 4.indd 17
23/12/2009 11:01:18 AM
what is
?
Sometimes called ‘combination therapy’, treatment for hepatitis C today is usually a combination of 2 types of drugs
Pegylated Interferon + Ribavirin what is Interferon? Interferon is a substance that your body makes by itself to help fight off infections like colds and hepatitis. Your body produces interferons by itself. But during treatment you take more and stronger interferon to help fight hep C.
Pegylated interferon is a type of interferon that stays in your body longer. Pegylated interferon is an injection that is taken once per week.
what is Ribavirin? Ribavirin is a drug that tries to stop the hep C virus reproducing. Ribavirin is in tablets taken every day during treatment.
used together, these 2 drugs work to fight the hep C virus. TRANSMISSION
TM ed 4.indd 18
18 23/12/2009 11:01:27 AM
-
who should really think about having hep c treatment? People who have serious liver damage caused by their hep C People who have had hep C for a long time (more than 15 years) People who have hep C and:
- have drunk a lot of alcohol in their lifetime
- also have HIV, or hep B or all three
- are overweight or have diabetes
People whose hep C is really causing problems for them in their lives To find out more about any of this, call the Hepatitis Helpline 1800 803 990
before treatment can begin ... People need to be assessed by a doctor or nurse. The assessment will be some questions about things like: - mental health issues (any issues now or in the past) - drug & alcohol use - supports (family & friends) - responsibilities like relationships, kids, work - how someone deals with stress & anger
This process is important. It will try and help someone figure out if it is the best time for them to be going through hep C treatment. It will also help them prepare for the things that could happen during treatment. TRANSMISSION
TM ed 4.indd 19
19
23/12/2009 11:01:27 AM
How long does treatment go for? The time someone needs to be treated for, depends on which genotype of hep C they have. If you have hep C and want to know what genotype you have, you will need to ask your doctor for a PCR genotype test.
Genotypes 1 and 4 = treatment for
1 year
Genotypes 2 and 3 = treatment for
6 months
treatment =
1 injection per week (Pegylated Interferon)
(48 weeks) (24 weeks)
+ tablets every day (Ribavirin)
Will treatment get rid of hep c? The success rates of treatment can depend on a number of things like someone’s:
genotype
age
body weight
amount of liver damage
viral load (how much of the virus is in the body)
but current research shows that;
Genotypes 1 and 4 =
50% chance of getting rid of hep C
if someone has genotype 1 and they get treated before they have too much liver damage, they have up to a 60-70% chance of getting rid of hep C
Genotypes 2 and 3 = TRANSMISSION
80% chance of getting rid of hep C
20
TM ed 4.indd 20
23/12/2009 11:01:27 AM
what side effects can hep c treatment have? Side effects are something that lots of people worry about. They can be different for everybody. They are often bad in the first few weeks of treatment but can get better as treatment goes on. Some common side effects are:
depression weight loss feeling tired skin problems
temporary hair loss mood swings feeling like you have the flu headaches & nausea (vomiting)
Some of these side effects can be managed with help from a doctor.
ew nre-treatment If someone has had hep C treatment before and they didn’t finish it or the treatment didn’t get rid of their hep C ...
new medicare rules mean that they
can have another go at treatment without having to pay lots of money
if you would like to know more about hep c treatment talk to the hepatitis helpline ph: 1800 803 990 (freecall) (freecall from prison too) TRANSMISSION
TM ed 4.indd 21
21
23/12/2009 11:01:29 AM
at the methadone clinic
James...?
it’s about hep C treatment
Hi, what’s the survey about?
count me out of that one! i don’t wanna go through all that drama again
see ya tommorow.
TRANSMISSION
22
TM ed 4.indd 22
23/12/2009 11:01:33 AM
drama? you didn’t have a good time on treatment
bloody hell, where do i start?
good time!? well it wasnt my idea of fun
what do you mean?
... a few years ago i went to a rehab
they said it might be a good time for me to get treated for my hep C ... so i did
first i had to have a liver biopsy, that’s when they take a piece of your liver out for testing
Will This hurt?
After they figured out which type of hep C i had, i began treatment and had to have all these injections
maybe!
TRANSMISSION
TM ed 4.indd 23
23
23/12/2009 11:01:34 AM
wh liv
the drugs they were giving me made me feel like shit. some days i couldn’t even get out of bed ...
my hair started falling out
and i ended up feeling really depressed
i felt like a zombie
pro th
that guy looks how i feel
TRANSMISSION
24
TM ed 4.indd 24
23/12/2009 11:01:36 AM
when i got out of rehab, i got referred to a liver clinic to continue my hep C treatment
but i knew i wouldn’t go to the clinic. The treatment was killing me, i didn’t want to keep doing it ... Hang in there with the treatment
Yeah right!
d so now you know why i don’t want to know about it again!
that sounds pretty full on
I had hep C treatment last year.
some of the side affects were hard to deal with but nothing like you had you were probably one of the lucky ones
i don’t know about lucky but now they have new treatment, which increases the chances of getting rid of hep C it sounds like you had ‘monotherapy’ these days they use ‘combination therapy’
which means what?
TRANSMISSION
TM ed 4.indd 25
25
23/12/2009 11:01:38 AM
it means they use 2 drugs called interferon & ribavirin instead of just the interferon which you had
yeah tell me about it! and i didn’t have to get a biopsy either. You don’t need them to start treatment anymore
great that’s just what i need, more drugs!
times have changed then hey?
it’s a shame i’ve got one of the bad types of hep C
bad type? what do you mean?
they told me that the type i had was harder to get rid of
oh ok, all i know is that these days the chances of getting rid of hep c with treatment are better than they used to be
you make it sound easy
nah, it wasn’t all easy, but it wasn’t all bad and in the end i got rid of my hep c
i’m spewing, I used up my chance all those years ago. TRANSMISSION
TM ed 4.indd 26
I’ve already had a go at treatment if i want to do it again i’ll have to pay heaps of money for it
nah, that’s changed as well
26 23/12/2009 11:01:41 AM
if you have been on treatment before and you didn’t finish it or it didn’t clear your hep C, medicare will pay for you to do it again
are you serious ?!
would i lie to you Jimmy?
hmmm well it gives me something to think about
see ya later man, this is my train
i’d love to get rid of my hep C
The Hepatitis Helpline is really good for a chat - Give em a buzz
TRANSMISSION
TM ed 4.indd 27
27
23/12/2009 11:01:42 AM
later that week a zombie movie? wow this could be a sign
hello, hepatitis helpline
where’s that magazine?
is it true i can do treatment if i didn’t finish last time i tried?
yes it is true, medicare have just information information information information changed the rules information information
MSC 2089 Hep C Poster Final v2
24/10/02 4:40 PM
that’s cool. whats this about different genotypes?
Page 1
support
support support support support
support
support
confidential
free free free free
confidential free & confidential confidential confidential
referrals referrals
so i won’t have to pay thousands for the treatment?
referrals referrals referrals
referrals
H EP
referrals
C
9332 1599 FOR SYDNEY CALLERS w w w. h e p
H E L PL INE 18 0F O0R
8 0N3 SW
OTHER
990
CALLERS
atitisc.org.au
no, nothing major like that
TRANSMISSION
TM ed 4.indd 28
28 23/12/2009 11:01:45 AM
s
well, treatment for genotype 1 & 4 goes for 12 months
and genotype 2 & 3 goes for 6 months
a doctor can give you a test to see which type you have
is it going to work or what?
i can’t tell you that but what i can tell you is, if you stick to your treatment ...
there is a 50 - 80% chance that it will work for you, depending on what type you have
so my mate Tim was right hey? who would have thought! maybe it’s time for another go...
TRANSMISSION
TM ed 4.indd 29
29
23/12/2009 11:01:47 AM
Do I have to pay for hep C treatment?
q a
Both medications (pegylated interferon & ribavirin see page 18) are free in Australia if you have a Medicare card
but you have to pay a patient dispensing fee when you pick up the medication from your hospital pharmacy. The current cost is $5 or $25 per month, depending on whether you are a private or public patient and whether you hold a Healthcare Card or Senior’s Card.
sms: 0404 440 103
ph: 1800 803 990
transmission@hep.org.au
if your question is urgent call the Hepatitis Helpline TRANSMISSION
30
TM ed 4.indd 30
ph: 1800 803 990 (freecall) (freecall from prison too) 23/12/2009 11:01:55 AM
available in
N.S.W
if you want to speak to someone who has had hep C treatment and ask them questions about it you can call ...
Hep Connect
SWOP
To organise a time to speak to a volunteer phone
9332 1599 (Sydney) phone: 1800 803
990
1800 990about (Freecall NSW) to find out803 more Hepregional Connect TRANSMISSION
TM ed 4.indd 31
31
23/12/2009 11:01:56 AM
sms: 0404 440 103 ph: 1800 803 990 transmission@hep.org.au www.facebook.com/TRANSMISSIONMAG
TM ed 4.indd 32
www.twitter.com/TRANSMISSIONMAG
23/12/2009 11:02:03 AM