Cure the disease and kill the patient

I've written before about The Cure. And I'm sure I'll write about it again. This time it's a thread headed "Does a cure matter?" on the Spiritia Forum in the section reserved for people with HIV to open their hearts. (One problem with these postings is that they use 'bahasa gaul', a language of the younger generation which I frequently have difficulty understanding, but I'll try to convey the intent as I construe it.)

The original poster says that it's not that he doesn't want to be cured, he'd really be grateful for it, but all the busy-ness looking for a cure seems to make little sense. We're now used to living with the virus, and it's impact on our lives is not too heavy. He makes the frequently-made point that what hurts is not the virus but the way he is treated by others. On the other hand, his life is better, he's forced to behave. If there was a cure, might he not go back to using [drugs] again? Go back to his previous life?

Not all of the respondents fully agree, but most express similar sentiments. One notes that in searching for the magic bullet, we leave ourselves open to cheats who just want to make a profit from us.

Another thread, "Changes since I became infected" returns to the theme we often hear, that HIV improved the quality of life. Among 11 improvements, the writer notes that if he hadn't become infected he'd probably already have died of an overdose, or ended up in prison. With tongue in cheek (I hope!), his tenth change is that dogs are afraid to bite him, because they might catch HIV!

Sadly, the most common response in this thread is that HIV has helped them find out who are the real friends. And reflecting the parlous state of ARV supply, one says it's the increased heart beat every month when he goes to fill his prescription.

The really depressing thing is that most of these folk will not die of HIV, cure or no cure. Because of their life-style, and because so many are also infected with viral hepatitis, many will die at an early age from liver failure, lung cancer or heart problems, resulting from smoking, overweight and lack of exercise. Drug side effects may contribute to this mortality, but will likely not be the main cause. Still, at least they'll have the chance to have children and make something of their lives.

I guess the bottom line is that, much more important than a cure for HIV is better hepatitis treatment, and less toxic HIV drugs, together with a cure for smoking!

Babé