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I can't even conceive of the idea that in 2010, approaching 30 years of the identification of this disease, the hell so many of us have gone through with AIDS symptoms, HIV treatments, and last but not least, the psychological scarring we've all endured to some extent, that there is still no cure to eradicate this virus from existence. What I CAN believe, however, is that if a cure were to actually come to be, what would HIV specialists do next? And the researchers, pharmaceutical companies, etc? How about AIDSmeds.com? Or POZ magazine? What happens next if and when there is no disease to write about, research about, blog about, diagnose, treat, maintain? Here's what I see...billions of dollars in revenue tossed out like yesterday's garbage that doctors, pharmacists, chemists, writers and researchers have otherwise grown quite fond of pocketing, pissing their pants with worry thinking "OMG, what if we really cured this???" "no more summer house in the Hamptons, no more wine cellar, no more Mercedes." "I'll have to find new work!" I believe...WITH ALL OF MY HEART...that we have (and have had) a cure for this disease for some time. And that while no one wishes for anyone to fall gravely ill from AIDS, or die, the money is in diagnosis, lab tests, patient visits, drug development...maintenance. Eradicating the disease eradicates the wealth, and all at the expense of the quality of our lives, our sanity, our checkbooks. It makes me sick (no pun intended). My life hasn't been the same since my diagnosis 9 years ago. I was intentionally infected by a lying, malicious person, and since 2001, I've felt like my life has been hijacked and someone else set up shop inside of me. I'm a walking shell. My life is gone, as I used to know it, and my peace of mind right along with it. I'm no longer carefree, or free period...I'm strapped to my nightly dose of Atripla, my monthly visits to my doctor, and lab tests I can't afford--things I never event dreamed of 9 years ago. And the constant worry of treatment failure, and infecting other people, and HIV's impact on the aging process. It's a continuous barrage of worry. We're over a barrel. What choice do we have? Just keep popping those ARV's. We need someone, somewhere, to impose STRICT ACCOUNTABILITY ON RESEARCH AND DEVELOPMENT EFFORTS FOR A CURE, because I don't believe we're trying hard enough, or if we have, we're keeping it a secret. It's time for the damn cure already, and time for us to go back to our lives as we were intended to live them.
When I was laying on my bed back in the mid 80's hearing radio reports about the possibility of a medicine to help stop the virus, all I could do is listen and wait and try like fuck not to freak out. Now to read that there is a possibility of a cure is almost too much to comprehend. After 27 years of dealing with this virus, what a glorious concept to contemplate.
Mickey
I agree with you on all the above. I believe AIDS is the new cancer & it is all about money. No need to cure it if we can manage it, yes some will die along the way because their bodies can't handle the treatment. I often think back to the SARS epidemic, it was knocking people off pretty quick so they had to do something ASAP. I don't like to get caught up in conspiracy theories but we should look back at our public health care system, one example is the Tuskegee syphilis experiment. I was diagnosed in 1989 @ 14yrs of age. I'm a Hemophiliac. Anyways, I just recently in the last few years started taking anything for it, God blessed me all those years and is now blessing me with Atripla. It's all in Gods handsand if there is a cure and we are all being made to suffer they will be judged accordingly.
October 12, 2010