Gracie still remembers being diagnosed with hepatitis C.
“When I was first diagnosed, I was very worried,” she says. “I thought hepatitis C would take 10 years off my life, and I was nervous about telling people because of the stigma around it.”
For many people in rural and remote areas, that worry can sit quietly for years. Appointments can mean long drives and time off work. Some people don’t feel unwell, so they don’t get tested. Others assume treatment will be hard to access. Some people may have tried getting cured years ago but had a bad experience with the old treatment.
“At the time, I had heard about the old hepatitis C treatments, that they made you very ill and wouldn’t necessarily work,” she says.
When she learned a new treatment was available, she decided to go for it. “It was simply a course of tablets for 12 weeks,” Gracie says. “I started feeling clearer and more energetic even before I finished. The current treatment is a cure for most people.”
Afterwards, it wasn’t just her blood test that changed. “You do not always realise how much the virus is affecting you until it’s gone,” she says. “Once I was cured, I felt healthier, clearer and relieved that I no longer had to carry that worry.”
Even with the cure widely available, an estimated 63,000 Australians are still living with long-term hepatitis C, and many don’t know they have it. Many doctors in rural and remote areas may have limited knowledge about hepatitis C and be unsure how to manage patients needing testing or treatment.
That’s why a national hepatitis C telehealth service has launched as part of HepLink, designed to bridge gaps in care by making testing, treatment and support easier than ever, without the need to travel far or wait weeks for a doctor’s appointment. Anyone can access the service without a referral, and appointments are free.
The service can manage all parts of hepatitis C treatment, from organising testing and prescribing treatment to confirming whether the cure has been successful.
Chris Wallis, a nurse practitioner with HepLink, says people often put off testing because they think it will be complicated, or they live a long way from specialist services.
Hepatitis C can live silently in the body for years, so if you’ve ever had a moment where exposure was possible, even once, Chris says it’s worth getting tested.
“If there is even a small chance you could have been exposed years ago through injecting drug use, a tattoo, or a medical procedure overseas, my message is simple.
“Get tested. Testing is the most powerful tool we have to eliminate hepatitis C.”
More than 110,000 people have started treatment and around 100,000 have been cured since new hepatitis C medicines became available in 2016.
If you’d like to get tested, treated, or just have a chat about hepatitis C, you can call HepLink on 1800 437 222 or visit heplink.au to speak confidentially with a nurse and get help taking the next step.
HepLink is funded by the Australian Government Centre for Disease Control. The HepLink telehealth service is made possible through a community grant from Gilead Sciences Australia.
It’s 4am, and I’ve been awake for 22 hours. My shift started at 2:30pm and the surgeries haven’t stopped all Read more
Growing up in rural Queensland instilled in Dr Prue Wallin resilience, compassion, and a deep respect for community—values that shaped Read more
In the Murrumbidgee region, health professionals are doing remarkable work. Across vast distances and complex systems, they deliver person-centred care, Read more
In farming communities across Australia, the pressures of rural life are constant. From isolation and financial stress to extreme weather Read more