The PQW Hep C Team is in partnership with the Toronto Community Hepatitis C Program (TCHCP), a community based, client-centered collaborative care model which provides Hep C supports to individuals who have had difficulty accessing the mainstream health care system. The Hepatitis C program offers education, testing and treatment. TCHCP clients may be facing homelessness, low income supports, and use substances or have in the past.
The TCHCP is a partnership between PQWCHC, Regent Park Community Health Centre, South Riverdale Community Health Centre, and Sherbourne Health
Languages of Service:
- English
- Interpretation service available if needed
- Hep C is an infection of the liver caused by the hep C virus.
- Over time, the virus can cause liver scarring and injury, which can lead to severe conditions like cirrhosis, liver failure or liver cancer.
- The virus is passed blood to blood through breaks in the skin or in the lining of the nose and mouth.
- Treatment cures over 95% of people with Hep C !!
- Treatment for hep C is usually simple: taking 1-3 pills once daily for 8 to 12 weeks. Hep C medications now carry few side effects, and our team is here to help you manage any concerns you may have with starting and completing treatment.
- Getting tested is the first step !
Most people with hep C don’t know they have it. You can have hep C for many years before you get symptoms or feel sick. Everyone should be tested !
Activities with a higher risk of hep C:
- Sharing drug use equipment (needles, cookers, filters, washes, glass pipes, or straws for snorting drugs)
- Getting a tattoo or piercing with shared or poorly sterilized equipment
- Sharing personal hygiene items like razors or nail clippers with someone with Hep C
- Receiving a blood transfusion in Canada prior to 1992, or receiving a blood transfusion in a country where the blood supply isn’t screened enough
- Hep C isn’t spread easily by sexual contact, but certain sexual practices can a higher risk, like condomless anal sex, or sex when you already have another infection.
If you’ve never been diagnosed with hepatitis C, we can screen for Hep C in 5 to 20 minutes using a drop of blood from a finger prick. If this test is positive, or you know you’ve had hepatitis C in the past, we will collect blood to check for an active infection.