#lung cancer

Aside from taking antiretrovirals, quitting smoking is the number one way people with HIV can lower their risk of illness and death.

Researchers strongly advise those living with the virus to quit cigarettes.

Quitting, even at age 40, can drastically lower this risk.

However, compared with the general population, HIV-positive individuals remain at higher risk for a slew of malignancies.

My headline is, of course, a gross exaggeration. But does this news mean we should hope we get cancer?

A case study of a 51-year-old man treated for lung cancer reveals a promising avenue toward possibly curing the virus.

With the HIV population aging, it is increasingly at risk of such age-related cancers.

Quitting, even at age 40, can drastically lower this risk.

A recent study found that from 1995 to 2009, 10 percent of all deaths among a large cohort of people on HIV treatment were cancer-related.

If people living with HIV who smoke quit their cigarette habit, they soon slash their risk of numerous cancers.

As AIDS-related cancers decline and the HIV population ages, the most common malignancies by 2030 will likely be those related to aging.

People with HIV in British Columbia have a shorter life expectancy and spend longer living with illnesses compared with those without HIV.

However, unlike HIV-negative quitters, their lung disease risk remains highly elevated for at least five years after kicking the habit.

Much of the raised risk of lung cancer among the HIV population can be explained by individuals’ history with AIDS-related pneumonia.