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4 Ways to Show Your Support During Hepatitis Awareness Month

Written by Avella Specialty Pharmacy | Fri, May 15, 2015

Did you know that there are 17,000 new hepatitis cases reported in the United States each year? If you are not familiar with hepatitis, it is an inflammation of the liver that is typically caused by a viral infection. In the US alone, nearly 5 million Americans are living with hepatitis, but 75% of those individuals are undiagnosed. Individuals can live with chronic hepatitis for decades without ever having symptoms. Download this infographic to further understand the challenges that hepatitis patients face, and gain clarity around the HCV epidemic in the US.

To help bring awareness to the disease during Hepatitis Awareness Month, and throughout the year, we want to share ways you can help spread awareness and educate the public about hepatitis.

Hepatitis Risk Assessment: Are you worried you or someone you know may be at risk for hepatitis? Take this 5 minute Hepatitis Risk Assessment developed by the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) and get a personalized report to see if you may be at risk.

Hepatitis Testing Day: May 19th is National “Hepatitis Testing Day” in the United States. The CDC will use the second annual Hepatitis Testing Day on May 19th as an opportunity to remind health care providers and the public who should be tested for chronic viral hepatitis. Find a testing event near you or help build testing resources by registering your testing day event on the CDC's Hepatitis Testing Events page. In addition, Avella of Denver will be a testing site on May 19th. Simply contact the pharmacy to schedule your appointment at (303) 863-7644.

Cost of Hepatitis C: Many have seen the high drug prices for hepatitis C treatments in the news recently. Groundbreaking hepatitis C medications available demonstrate cure rates of over 90%. We want to help you understand the real cost of not curing hepatitis C, so we've put together an infographic to provide information on the cost of curing hepatitis C versus the cost of not treating it. Download the infographic.

HCV Therapy Breakthroughs and Q&A: Get answers to some of the most common HCV therapy questions when either treating hepatitis C, or if you or a loved one are currently being treated for HCV. Also, learn more about the recent hepatitis C breakthrough treatments from a leading gastroenterologist.

Since May is Hepatitis Awareness Month, we look forward to helping you spread awareness about the disease. Early detection of HCV is critical since many individuals exhibit no symptoms and don’t realize they are infected. The CDC recommends all individuals born between 1945 and 1965 get a blood test for hepatitis C. The CDC estimates that one-time testing of all baby boomers would identify 800,000 currently undiagnosed individuals with hepatitis C.

If you have recently been diagnosed, here is helpful information to help you understand your hepatitis diagnosis. If your loved one has been diagnosed, here is another article to help them cope with the disease. You can also download the hepatitis specialty pharmacy selection guide to help you identify the important items to consider when choosing a specialty pharmacy partner.