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A WORD FROM THE EDITOR!

Welcome to Tx! Mag #47!

In our first of two stories we meet Katie. Katie has just got out of prison and has a job in hospitality but the tattoo she got when inside has put her at risk of hep C. Will she take the brave step to get tested?

It's a scary step to take for some but support is close at hand for Katie.

Our second story introduces Tom. Tom has hep C but has not followed up with treatment...he mistakenly believes the treatment is still that terrible interferon.

Can he be persuaded to get cured with the new DAAs, meds once a day, no needles and little to no side effects. Join Tom as he chooses which track to take.

This edition has our usual puzzles, a competition and a survey. You can go in the draw to win $100 Coles/Myer voucher for both survey (p18) and competition (p30), so fill them out and send them in...no postage required.

And yes, the prizes do go to real people.

Hope you enjoy Tx! MAG #47!

Cheers!

Steven Tx! Mag Ed

Aside from Hepatitis NSW editorial content, views expressed in this magazine or flyers enclosed with it are not necessarily those of Hepatitis NSW or the organisations with whom we collaborate. Neither are such views necessarily those of our funding bodies.

Tx! Mag does not promote or condone the use of illicit drugs. Rather, it seeks to provide accurate information that will help people who already use drugs to reduce risks and make safer choices. Nothing in this magazine should be taken as recommending drug use.

Hepatitis NSW is proud to acknowledge Aboriginal people as the traditional owners and custodians of our lands and waters.

EDITOR/DESIGNER

Steven Davis

EDITORIAL COMMITTEE

Athena Mumbulla

Justine (JD) Doidge

Maria McMahon

Thomas Wright

Alex Wade

Naomi Hatchman

Shana Quale

Gary Gahan

Camilla Lobo

Julie Browning

SPECIAL THANKS

Grace Crowley

DROP-IN CENTRE

Writer: Charlie Foster

Artist: Arturo Palacios

MOUNTAIN TO MOLEHILL

Writer: Charlie Foster

Artist: Trev Wood

CONSULTANTS

gestaltcomics.com

Hepatitis Infoline

1800 803 990 (freecall)

e: info@hep.org.au

w: hep.org.au

facebook: facebook.com/HepNSW

youtube: bit.ly/HNSWYT

instagram: @hepatitis_NSW PO Box 432

Darlinghurst, NSW 1300

ABN 30 408 095 245

A non-profit health promotion charity funded by the NSW Ministry of Health. Accredited by the Quality Improvement Council of Australia (QIC). Donations of $2 and over are tax deductible.

Get a PCR test

EVERYONE HAS THE RIGHT TO BE CURED OF HEP C!

TREATMENT IS SO MUCH BETTER TODAY!

Curing your hep C means you don’t have to worry about passing it on to your partner, friends, or family. If you’re cured, the worry is gone.

TESTING

There are more choices and ways to test...

n Point of Care finger prick test with results in 40 minutes;

n Dried Blood Spot (DBS) finger prick test with results by text, call or email. You can get a DBS kit posted to you. (For more info on DBS see page 32.)

You can get tested at...

n sexual health clinics;

n doctor’s clinics;

n drug and alcohol services;

n needle and syringe programs (NSPs);

n Aboriginal Medical Services (AMS).

TREATMENT AND CURE

The new treatment is a game changer…

n cures over 95% of people;

n has very few side-effects;

n is pills only, just 1 or 3 pills a day;

n no injections, no interferon;

n takes 8 or 12 weeks; and

n can be prescribed by local clinics, doctors and registered nurse practitioners.

Everyone has the right to the new hep C cure, even if you...

n have cirrhosis or liver damage;

n are using;

n drink alcohol;

n have been treated before and got hep C again;

n have been treated in the old interferon days and it didn’t work;

n are in prison; and/or

n live with a mental health condition.

5 PUT IT IN THE POST TO US (NO NEED TO BUY A STAMP, IT'S FREE TO SEND) * THESE $100 VOUCHERS CAN BE USED AT COLES/MYER & AFFILIATED STORES.

TX! survey#47

calling the Hepatitis Infoline going to the Hepatitis NSW website talking to someone about support services talking to someone else about hepatitis it hasn't made me think about doing anything other (please let us know)

OPTIONAL QUESTIONS...

7. Please describe yourself: (tick as many as you like) person with hep C/cured of hep C person with hep B current prisoner

Aboriginal or Torres Strait Islander someone who doesn't usually speak English at home other (please let us know)

Hepatitis NSW respects your right to privacy. We have a policy and set of procedures on how we collect, use, disclose and hold your personal info. For a copy of the policy, please contact us on 02 9332 1853 or visit hep.org.au People in custody, please name a person to receive

Congrats to Mark T. who won a $100 Coles/Myer voucher from Tx! Mag #46.

Thank you to the many people who sent in their feedback over the last three months! We love to get, and appreciate, your input.

This prize offer is for NSW residents only - one entry per person.

Tx! COMPETITION

ANSWER THESE QUESTIONS...

All you have to do to win is answer these four questions correctly, just tick the right box! We'll choose one entry at random and the first one with all answers right will be the winner!

1. Do backyard or prison tats put you at risk of hep C? [DROP-IN CENTRE]

Yes. Always get your tattoos from a professional, licensed tattoo artist

Buzz buzz

Don't know... I have to read DROP IN CENTRE...

Bacon and egg roll

2. What side-effects can you expect when taking meds for a hep C cure? [MOUNTAIN TO MOLEHILL]

You can expect little to no side-effects, maybe a headache or upset stomach

Squeak squeak

Don't know... I have to read MOUNTAIN TO MOLEHILL...

Hamburger

3. There is only one way to know if you have hep C or not. What is it? [DROP-IN CENTRE]

Get tested. It's the only way to know for sure.

Tick tock

Don't know... I have to read DROP-IN CENTRE...

Tossed Salad

4. Which website can you visit to get information about hep C? [MOUNTAIN TO MOLEHILL]

www.hep.org.au and click on "hep C"

Bing Bong

Don't know... I have to read MOUNTAIN TO MOLEHILL...

Chip buttie

TELL US YOUR DEETS...

This prize offer is for NSW residents only - one entry per person. We'll contact the winner & announce their name in the next issue. People in custody, please name a person

Congrats to Stefani R who was the lucky winner from last edition's competition draw!

FIND-A-WORD!

EASY AS SUDOKU

NUMBERS

Each grid is partially completed with numbers. The goal is to fill the missing numbers into the grid - from 1 to 4. In each column, row and grid you can use each number only once.

Can you find all 30 of these words in the puzzle above? The words might go up or down, left or right, forwards or backwards. The solution is below, but no peeking!

TATTOO BACON EGG HOLIDAY PEER ANTIBODY CURED LIVER TEST FINGERPRICK

BRAIN FOG SURF MOUNTAIN STACK SCRAPE PARTY BIKE DOCTOR SIDE

EFFECTS MEDS HEALTH ENERGY UNIFORM BALI DREAM TRUTH EXTRA EASY

SHAPES

Each grid is partially completed with shapes - star, circle, square, triangle. The goal is to fill the missing shapes. In each column, row and grid you can use each shape only once.

TX! MAG #46 [HEP C]

No Way I'm Giving Up! Mike has noticed the hep C posters in the CC. Should he get tested? Meanwhile Jane shares injecting gear with her friends, will she listen to advice from a peer worker?

TX! MAG #45 [HEP B]

Easy As Jimmy is in a serious relationship and his Elders impart some words of wisdom about getting tested and vaccinated for hep B.

TX! MAG #44 [HEP C]

Turning the Truck Around Andy got hep C. Stigma weighs upon him. Aunt has great advice & joins him on his treatment path. Meanwhile Laura WON'T talk about hep C. Daughter Katie has other ideas.

CROSSWORD 1

ACROSS (3)

1. Medium sized vehicle for transporting goods

3. Take action, do something

5. Strange

6. A dark, flammable, sticky liquid

8. Tiny code that tells your body how to grow

10. A piece of furniture for sleep or rest

12. Small stand that a golf ball sits on

14. Frozen water

15. Slang for gossiping

16. The invisible gas surrounding the earth.

DOWN (3)

1. A large tank or tub to hold liquid

2. Not either

3. Join numbers to increase amount.

4. Hot drink made from dried crushed leaves

7. Playing card ranked as the highest card in its suit

9. Given name at birth

10. Flexible carrier, open at the top with handles

11. Feuding rap artists might make a *** track

12. Cuppa

13. Organ of hearing and balance

Solution next page

N L I A T E G S R

How many words of four letters or more can you make from the letters here? In making a word, each letter may be used once only. Each word must contain the centre letter, and there must be at least one nine-letter word. No foreign words, no words with initial capitals and no hyphenated words.

What's your score?

7 Meh. But at least you tried!

13 Pretty good, eh?

22 Awesome

34 Holy crap! Mega genius!

50+ You are clearly a human dictionary and/or computer...we didn't even know half of those crazy words!

Answers next page

1. A situation in which no progress is possible (7)

6. Any beer other than lager or stout (3)

7. Hard work (5)

8. Bulge downwards (3)

9. Large port city on Japanese island of Honshu (5)

10. Famous multi-cultural TV service of Australia (3)

12. Largest continent on earth (4)

15. A single celled animal (6)

17. '**** la vista. Arnold Schwarzenegger said it (4)

18. Expressing dry, especially mocking, humour (3)

1. Happy, peaceful situation (4)

2. A single step taken when walking or running (5)

3. The "baddie" in the movie JAWS (6)

4. Organs of hearing and balance (4)

5. A boundary formed by closely grown bushes (5)

9. A fertile spot in a desert (5)

11. A very young child (4)

13. The best (3)

14. Knot with two loops (3)

16. Express hesitation (2)

TARGET SOLUTION

gnarliest, integrals, triangles, alerting, aligners, altering, angriest, entrails, ganister, gantries, glariest, granites, ingrates, integral, latrines, rangiest, ratlines, realigns, relating, ringlets, starling, sterling, strangle, tasering, trenails, triangle, aigrets, aligner, anglers, antlers, antsier, engrail, erasing, gainers, gaiters, garnets, gastrin, glister, granite, gratins, gristle, ingrate, largest, latrine, lingers, nastier, ratings, ratline, realign, realist, regains, reliant, rentals, resting, retails, retains, retinal, retinas, retsina, ringlet, saltern, saltier, saltire, seagirt, searing, seringa, slatier, slinger, stagier, stainer, staring, stearin, stinger, strange, tangier, tearing, tingler, trenail, aigret, alerts, alters, angers, angler, antler, argent, arisen, arsine, astern, earing, gainer, gaiter, garnet, glares, gnarls, grails, grains, grants, grates, gratin, gratis, greats, grilse, insert, instar, inters, lagers, larges, larine, learns, learnt, ligers, linear, liners, linger, linter, lister, ranges, ratels, rating, ratlin, regain, regnal, reigns, relist, rental, resign, retail, retain, retina, salter, sarnie, satire, serial, signer, singer, sinter, slater, staler, sterna, strain, striae, string, taring, tergal, tigers, tilers, trails, trains, triage, trials, trines, alert, alter, anger, antre, argil, ariel, arils, arise, artel, aster, astir, earls, earns, gears, girls, girts, glair, glare, gnarl, grail, grain, grans, grant, grate, great, grins, grist, grits, inert, inter, irate, lager, lairs, large, laser, later, learn, liars, liger, liner, liras, litre, nares, naris, nears, rages, rails, rains, raise, rales, range, ranis, rants, ratel, rates, reals, regal, reign, reins, relit, renal, rents, resin, rials, riant, riels, riles, rings, rinse, risen, rites, sager, saner, sarge, serai, serin, siren, sitar, snare, snarl, stair, stare, stern, stria, taler, tares, targe, tarns, tarsi, taser, tears, terns, tiers, tiger, tiler, tires, trail, train, trans, trial, tries, trine, airs, aril, arts, earl, earn, ears, eras, ergs, erst, gars, gear, girl, girt, gran, grin, grit, lair, liar, lire, near, rage, ragi, rags, rail, rain, rale, rang, rani, rant, rase, rate, rats, real, rein, reis, rent, rest, rets, rial, riel, rigs, rile, ring, rise, rite, sari, sear, sera, sire, star, stir, tare, tarn, tars, tear, tern, tier, tire, trig, tsar

A little bit harder...!