HCMSG - Hepatitis C Mentor & Support Group, Inc.
Search
  • About Us
    • Our Mission
    • Board of Directors
    • Medical Advisors
  • Resources
    • Corona Virus
    • Hep C Facts & Stats
    • Medications and Treatments >
      • Patient Assistance Programs
    • Reading
    • Links
  • Programs/Training
    • The Circle Model >
      • THE CIRCLE Registration
      • Group and Facilitator Guide
    • Hepatitis C Online Training
    • The Hepatitis C Education and Support Group Assistance Program
    • Healthcare Provider Training
  • Newsletter
  • Blog
  • Support Us
    • Holiday 2020
  • Contact Us

More Proof On The Benefits of Hepatitis C Support Groups

6/26/2012

3 Comments

 

 Hepatitis C support group sharing insights and battling
  stigmas
 
Published on June
21, 2012
Tyler  Clarke 
 
 Prince  Albert , Hepatitis  C Support Group

In a community battling hepatitis C rates that more than double the
  provincial rate, Prince Albert’s Hepatitis C Support Group serves an important
  role.


“The clients that come to our support groups may be family members of people
  living with the virus and they might want to learn more,” registered nurse
  Shelley Crawford said.


“They might be clients living with the virus themselves and might want to
  learn more about the treatments.


Crawford heads the monthly Hepatitis C Support Group at the Prince Albert
  Sexual Health Clinic.


“We have clients that come and donate their time as support people to give
  their experiences on what the treatment was like and what they would have done
  differently or what they did to help them through treatment,” she said.


“They’re inspirations for the group.”


The meetings foster a social atmosphere where people feel comfortable
  discussing their condition and share insight on how to deal with the diseases,
  Crawford said. Noting that sometimes people feel more comfortable talking to
  other people who are living with the same condition.


“I think people feel more comfortable talking to other people who are living
  with the same thing. It’s inspirational to hear other individuals who have
  fought the illness, who have went through the treatment — they just feel
  inspired by those people,” she said.


Simple life tips, such as limiting or eliminating one’s alcohol consumption,
  can make a big difference, Crawford said.


“If you add alcohol to the mix it can dramatically increase (hepatitis C’s)
  progression,” she said.


“It can be quite slow, but if you’re leading an unhealthy lifestyle, if
  you’re drinking, the progression can rapidly increase.”


There’s a lot to know about hepatitis C, but the main thing Crawford would
  like to see the community realize is that not everyone with the disease got it
  through intravenous drug use.



“I think people feel more comfortable talking to other people who are living
  with the same thing. It’s inspirational to hear other individuals who have
  fought the illness, who have went through the treatment — they just feel
  inspired by those people. - Registered nurse Shelley
Crawford



“Clients … have lived in silence because of the stigma and discrimination
  they fear or have already experienced in their life,” Crawford said, noting
that  some of these people avoid treatment.


“As soon as (people) hear hepatitis C they automatically think injection
  drugs, and we’d like to encourage people to not think that way. Lots of our
  clients have had no risk factors that they know of and they’re (hepatitis C)
  positive.”


Hepatitis C is spread through blood-to-blood contact, which most commonly
  occurs during intravenous drug use — the simple act of sharing one of the many
  drug implements during the process of getting high enough to transmit the
  disease.


The same can apply with personal hygiene products. A toothbrush with some
  blood on it shared could result in transmission of the disease.


Blood transfusions prior to 1992 could have also transmitted the disease,
  Crawford said.


“We really urge clients that have ever had a blood transfusion prior to 1992
  to talk to their doctors,” she said.


With greater awareness in the community around hepatitis C, Crawford hopes to
  see more people turn up for their monthly support group meetings.


By reaching out to more people and spreading the word, “we just hope that
  people will feel more comfortable coming in,” she said.


“It just brings people together in a social way and that brings spontaneous
  discussions around people’s experiences. We really try to make the environment
a  friendly, caring and therapeutic and informative as well.”

3 Comments
plastic surgeon sydney link
7/17/2012 03:57:35 pm

The support groups really benefits a lot and helps to share your pain and experience with others having same disease.

Reply
restylane injections link
8/2/2012 11:59:22 pm

Support groups are really helpful in controlling the mental stage of the people they have been proving vital in disease fight.

Reply
Dorothy link
11/20/2012 01:51:43 pm

I like the way you described the topic with such clarity. This is something I have been thinking about for a long time and you really captured the essence of the subject.

Reply

Your comment will be posted after it is approved.


Leave a Reply.

    Archives

    January 2021
    December 2020
    November 2020
    October 2020
    September 2020
    August 2020
    July 2020
    June 2020
    May 2020
    April 2020
    March 2020
    February 2020
    January 2020
    December 2019
    November 2019
    October 2019
    August 2019
    July 2019
    June 2019
    May 2019
    April 2019
    March 2019
    February 2019
    January 2019
    December 2018
    November 2018
    October 2018
    September 2018
    August 2018
    July 2018
    June 2018
    May 2018
    April 2018
    March 2018
    February 2018
    January 2018
    December 2017
    November 2017
    October 2017
    September 2017
    August 2017
    July 2017
    June 2017
    May 2017
    April 2017
    March 2017
    February 2017
    January 2017
    December 2016
    November 2016
    October 2016
    September 2016
    August 2016
    July 2016
    June 2016
    May 2016
    April 2016
    March 2016
    February 2016
    January 2016
    December 2015
    November 2015
    October 2015
    September 2015
    August 2015
    July 2015
    June 2015
    May 2015
    April 2015
    March 2015
    February 2015
    January 2015
    December 2014
    November 2014
    October 2014
    September 2014
    August 2014
    July 2014
    June 2014
    May 2014
    April 2014
    March 2014
    February 2014
    January 2014
    December 2013
    November 2013
    October 2013
    September 2013
    August 2013
    July 2013
    June 2013
    May 2013
    April 2013
    March 2013
    February 2013
    January 2013
    December 2012
    November 2012
    October 2012
    September 2012
    August 2012
    July 2012
    June 2012
    May 2012
    April 2012
    March 2012
    February 2012
    January 2012
    December 2011
    November 2011
    October 2011
    September 2011
    August 2011
    July 2011
    June 2011
    May 2011

    Categories

    All

    RSS Feed

Privacy Policy