Gary Nash, a sports lover and a former national sit-down arm wrestling champion, believes that at the time he was diagnosed with hepatitis C virus (HCV), he had been living with it for more than three decades.

Nash started the first of his two hep C treatments in 2008, but it didn’t work. Unfortunately, his liver cirrhosis was so severe that his doctors gave him three to seven years to live. He tried again in 2014 with a newer HCV treatment; this time he was cured of the virus.

To celebrate his successful fight against HCV, Nash—our cover guy—pursued his dream of becoming the oldest person to finish the obstacle course on the TV show American Ninja Warrior. Click here to read more about how Nash stays fit and seeks to raise hep C awareness on TV.

As Nash demonstrates, fighting HCV takes personal determination. However, it also takes getting educated about the virus and the new options for treatment, as well as learning about how to keep your liver as healthy as possible. You can get started by reading HEP magazine.

Oriol R. Gutierrez

Oriol R. GutierrezJoan Lobis Brown

Treatment for hep C has never been better. The drugs are now easier to take, have little to no major side effects and require just weeks to achieve a cure. That said, pharmaceutical companies are pushing for even better treatments. Click here to learn more about the 2016 HCV treatment research pipeline.

Before you can even consider your treatment options, you obviously need to know your HCV status. The U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) recommends that all Americans born from 1945 to 1965 get tested for hep C. However, others should also consider getting tested for the virus.

The CDC estimates that between 2.7 million and 3.9 million Americans have HCV—and most of them don’t know they have the virus. To increase awareness of HCV testing, especially among people at high risk of having hep C, the CDC launched “Know More Hepatitis,” a national media campaign.

Click here to learn more about the CDC campaign and click here to read “10 Ways to Protect Your Liver.”