“It was like having my life back”: hepatitis C patient in Wales urges at-risk groups to get tested, treated and cured
Published on: 29 Jul 2026
A recovered hepatitis C patient in Wales is urging people in at-risk groups to get tested for the virus, as if left untreated, it can cause liver damage and cancer of the liver. Treatment for hepatitis C is highly effective and is a simple course of daily tablets with very few side effects.
Andy Green, who lives in Cwmbran, was initially diagnosed with hepatitis C in the US in the 1990s, after going to his doctor suffering with extreme fatigue. They can’t be sure how he contracted hep C but his doctor straight away said: “It doesn’t matter how you got it, let’s deal with what you’ve got”.
“My diagnosis was a shock and I don’t know how I got it. But the doctor wasn’t interested in how I acquired it and so immediately I felt there was no stigma and we just focused on treating the illness.”
Andy, who works in the NHS in Wales, moved to Cwmbran after marrying a Welsh woman and was able to access the highly effective treatment for hepatitis C through the blood-borne viruses team at Aneurin Bevan University Health Board. He is one of several hundred patients treated for hepatitis C in Wales every year. Many people have few or very general symptoms, leading to the disease being labelled a ‘silent’ condition.
Andy adds: “It was just a few weeks of taking a daily tablet. I had no side effects, and then all of a sudden, the virus was completely gone.
“It was like having my life back – a huge weight off my shoulders. I’d always had a fear in the back of my mind that my daughter could pick it up from me by accident, and that fear has completely gone now.”
Hepatitis C is a blood borne virus, and in the UK risks of transmission include sharing drug use equipment such as needles or crack pipes, or having unprotected sex with someone with hepatitis C. In addition, visiting unlicensed or unregulated premises for tattoos, piercings, or beauty procedures like botox and fillers can present a risk, as does having these procedures or receiving medical and dental treatment abroad, particularly in countries without the UK’s stringent hygiene regulations.
Chronic hepatitis C is a serious condition that can lead to liver cancer and cirrhosis. Diagnosis can be challenging as symptoms — including tiredness, loss of appetite, nausea, stomach pain and jaundice — are broad and easily misinterpreted. It is therefore important that anyone who believes they may have been at risk gets tested. Testing is available in several ways, including through the free and confidential Public Health Wales Test and Post service.
Dr Daniel Thomas, Consultant Epidemiologist at Public Health Wales, said: “Hepatitis C is a silent disease that can cause long term illness, but with a simple blood test and effective medicines it is easy to diagnose and very easy to treat. Anyone with any risk should definitely get tested through the Public Health Wales Test and Post service. Get tested. Get treated. Get cured.”
Andy echoes this: “I would advise anyone with concerns to get tested. The treatment is really easy to manage, and the cure has given me a new-found freedom.”
More information about hepatitis C can be found on the Public Health Wales website.