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Preface to the Second Edition
| Last updated: 14.02.06 |
When I was first diagnosed with HIV, eighteen years ago, we knew virtually nothing about what this virus was, how it worked, or how to stop it causing havoc in our immune systems. There was no treatment, precious little knowledge, and widespread prejudice and fear. We all assumed that life expectancy would be short.
A huge amount has changed since then. Scientific understanding has grown in leaps and bounds. Public knowledge has certainly improved, though some prejudice still lingers. The development of powerful combinations of anti-HIV drugs (such as the ones I take) has transformed the nature and prospects of treatment. There are now eighteen drugs licensed, with more in development, and for those newly diagnosed with HIV or doing well on anti-HIV therapy the prognosis is infinitely better than it was.
Yet many things have remained unchanged. Having HIV and taking combination therapy isn’t easy, and side-effects are sometimes hard. You still need to look after your health generally. We have to continue to stand up to intolerance and ignorance. And the support of partners, friends and colleagues is as important today as it was eighteen years ago.
In 1988, information – however sketchy – was the key to understanding what being HIV positive meant. Information is still the key today. And this book – with its accompanying first-hand accounts of the reality of life with HIV – provides an excellent introduction to the issues which so many of us affected by HIV live with, day-by-day. It is packed with information; and for those affected by HIV – be they living with the virus, connected with or caring for those who are, or simply interested and concerned – it is of real value.
Chris Smith
Rt Hon Lord Smith of Finsbury