The image in my mind has never left me, even after many years of trying, of applying layers of wallpaper to that corner of my mind. I am in someone’s bedroom -- it could have been anyone, really -- and I am offered a syringe to inject crystal meth. The syringe has...
Finding Support in an e-Patient World
You're part of a healthcare revolution in cyberspace, my friends. It's changing the way people find treatment information, relate to their doctor, and support one another. And you're about to meet some of the marvelous people who are leading the charge. Did you know...
The Entire 2011 ADAP Conference in Nine Minutes!
The 2011 ADAP Advocacy Association (aaa+) conference held July 5-7 in Washington, DC, was bursting with spirit. Dozens of advocates from across the country met for three days of workshops and speakers, and in this video blog, you'll see the entire conference boiled...
Should AIDS Activists and Pharma Just Get Along?
I'm having an identity crisis. Am I an AIDS activist, ready to question authority and demand high standards of service for those living with HIV/AIDS? Or am I a "resource" for the pharmaceutical industry, so that they might craft more effective community programs that...
Hiding from the “AIDS at 30” media storm.
I shuttered myself from most of the hoopla surrounding the "AIDS at 30" milestone (we seem to have agreed on June 5, 1981, when an item in the Morbidity and Mortality Weekly Report reported deaths among gay men). The trauma of those early years is tough for me to...
Calling HIV Negative Gay Men: This is Your Time
This is directed to HIV negative gay men. Listen carefully. This is your time. I've lived with HIV more than half my life, and people often praise me far more than I deserve, simply for surviving. They use words like brave and courageous. You know what takes courage?...
How one Mom handles HIV/AIDS in the family.
God could not be everywhere, so he created mothers. ~Jewish Proverb My mother raised six children, topping off this great achievement with yours truly. Yes, I'm the youngest, which explains a lot, but not all. To understand the rest, you'd have to know the woman. Or,...
Walmart Gets Better.
They always say time changes things, but you actually have to change them yourself. -- Andy Warhol Yesterday I had a conference call with Walmart public relations manager Ravi Jariwala, and Crosby Cromwell, a manager for constituent relations. We discussed the fact...
A Very Special One-Year Anniversary Posting!
When Mark first started My Fabulous Disease, I was pretty sure it was going to directly result in the destruction of humanity. One year later, we're all still here. I can't believe I lost that bet. Myles Helfand, Editor, The Body, The Complete HIV/AIDS Resource My...
Touring an HIV+ gay sex club. Plus: the porn stars that got away.
The idea that HIV positive people still want sex is as old as The Denver Principles, the 1983 manifesto drawn up by gay men with AIDS that demanded "as full and satisfying a sexual and emotional life as anyone else." The document also stated that people with HIV/AIDS...
