Trees have been planted across East Lancashire by survivors of hepatitis C in memory of those who have lost their lives to the disease.
Shaun Denny, 45, was among those invited to plant a Victoria Plum memorial tree at Accrington Victoria Community Hospital as part of World Hepatitis Day on Friday, 28 July to raise awareness about viral hepatitis.
Shaun was homeless for 15 years and as a result of his living conditions contracted hepatitis C, which was left untreated. This led to him needing two liver transplants which have helped him change his life.
Shaun said: “When younger, I found myself spiralling out of control and ended up living on the streets of Manchester. I would take whatever substances I could to block things out. I knew I had hepatitis C but didn’t do anything about it. I was in a very bad place.
“I finally managed to get off the streets but at that point my liver was so diseased I was having 14 litres of fluid drained from my stomach every two weeks. I was literally days away from death.
“I have friends who have died from hepatitis and I am so privileged to still be here to be able to pay this tribute to them today and help raise awareness of the disease.”
Shaun now works for The Hepatitis C Trust, which forms part of the Lancashire and South Cumbria Operational Delivery Network for Hepatitis C.
He added: “I don’t want anyone to be at the stage I was – it was extremely scary. I encourage people to take the test when offered and to complete the treatment if the test comes back positive. I share my lived experience so people diagnosed with hep C know that I have been in their situation.”
A second tree was also planted in the Garden of Memories at Royal Blackburn Teaching Hospital by Sharon Gilligan, Chief Operating Officer and Deputy Chief Executive at East Lancashire Hospitals NHS Trust.
She said: “Living with hepatitis C is like a ticking timebomb. Curing it changes people’s lives.
“We have made some incredible progress recently through everyone working together to encourage people to be tested and receive treatment – we are really proud that this has helped eliminate the disease in several of our local prisons.”
Dr Ioannis Gkikas, Clinical Lead for Lancashire and South Cumbria Hepatitis C ODN said:
“On World Hepatitis Day (28 July), we emphasize that Hepatitis C can be cured and eliminated from the world, offering hope for a healthier future. Let us also remember the patients who have sadly lost their lives to this disease and continue our efforts to raise awareness and prevent further tragedies.
Hepatitis C often does not have any noticeable symptoms until the liver has been damaged, resulting in 50% of infected patients being unaware that they have it and risk developing liver complications such as cirrhosis and cancer.
Early diagnosis and treatment can prevent or limit any damage to your liver as well as help ensure the infection is not passed on to other people.
A remarkable 97% of patients who have been treated are cured of the virus.
The safe treatment comes in tablet form and offers patients a more appealing and less invasive treatment for Hepatitis C. It is taken once a day for 8-12 weeks, and has minimal side effects.
If you are worried and would like to be tested, you can order you free test delivered to your home address through The NHS test-at-home service. The NHS test-at-home service for hepatitis C is safe, discreet, and easy to use.
Visit https://hepctest.nhs.uk/ to order your free test today.