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No mention of this illness on any elder sight

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Thank u all so much you don't know how it feels to know there is someone out there who knows about this situation.I have spent hours and days and months studing this .I met a beautiful lady who was being booted out in the streets God spoke to my heart here I am .Come to find out she was an airline stewardess for 39 yrs and had a home that had been destroyed by these young men who took advantage of her.Suposedly she broke hip on diability she was approached by a young guy who immediately took advantage anyway its to long of a story when my athiritis is better n hand I will and probably everyone in America will hear her story.Everyone gave up on her they got a at the time 85 year old lady strung out and infatuated she tells me its her fault she almost lost her retirement her home looked like a hoarder home but just young druggies ripped 39 yrs hard work beautiful home beautiful person used her up and left her at the time I didn't know she had hiv.She was going from motel to motel and had a beautiful home another time I will tell more Sha didn't even get help I have her hospital records where she would make excuses so she would get help n have a clean place to sleep they would know her mental and health situation and still would discharge her to the streets.But God steped in I will fight until my last bnreath for these few seniors who are in this situation I have even written Obama in the statistics anyone over the age 55 they actually say is a waste of money, well I will prove them wrong America says we rehab they guys who took advantage of her still don't work they get their meds free I had to order her meds from another country because shes on the borderline to hard to explain but remember me because God sent a solier these people die a slow un mentionable death she been misdiagnosesed on purpose diagnosed just what medicare would pay for even at onetime no more than once she been in hospitals for hip n infection no dr even treated her for hiv what a shame thry slowly lose their mind with diamentia and it can be treated they treat her so bad but she is all good now and im almost 60 but I have got her house in oprder and threatened drugies with their life or the law so still fighting battle the system is worse than theses bad people n everythings free for them its unbelievable.Even the drs are likr oh well.I wont stop the battle the Lord has laid upon me thanks so much for caring sorry bout computer skills that's just a tip of story u guys just writing ment so much god Bless u!
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Stephen, thank you for writing this. I see evidence of what you wrote in a friend of mine, who is younger than I, but looks like he could be my father -- well, if I were Puerto Rican. He has an oral cancer that keeps him from enjoying solid food. I have not asked him when he was dx'ed, but I know it has been at least 10 years. So even though he still enjoys life, his body shows the wear that you wrote about.

I need to catch up on what is going on now with HIV. I used to edit a newsletter in Georgia for a support network, so kept abreast of things. With the loss of many friends and a couple of moves, I fell away. Reading about Magic Johnson being cured, I had great hope that HIV was soon to be a problem of the past. I should have known the virus was too tricky to disappear without a fight.
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Here are some of the data which will answer the questions: The CDC predicts that by 2015 half of all those living with HIV/AIDS in the US will be age 50 and older. Today almost 70% are age 40 and older. Effective treatment is the reason for this huge age shift, and in part due to new HIV infections that occur in the age 50 and older group (one in six). There are about 1.2 million people living with the HIV virus in the US. The virus is lethal. The collapse of the immune system can be prevented if people infected take their medication at better than 90-95% adherence rates. This good news is compromised by reports that show that older adults with HIV are developing at younger ages (50-65) those illnesses typically associated with the very old (75+). These include cardiovascular disease, multiple non HIV related cancers, osteoporosis, hypertension, diabetes and kidney disease. We do not know why this is happening - some call it accelerated aging. There is a national HIV and Aging Awareness Day. A brief search on line will generate hundreds of thousands of "hits" on HIV + Aging. In Africa where there are over 30 million people with HIV/AIDS we are also seeing aging in the epidemic. There are at least 3 million people age 50 and older living with HIV in Africa. Stephen Karpiak PhD - AIDS Community Research Initiative of America, ACRIA Center on HIV and Aging, and New York University College of Nursing.
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When I worked with an HIV support group back in the 90s, most of the people were young. We had one person, though, who was over 65. He was a character -- preferred to be she, so I'll call her she. She was a retired nurse and got SS and Medicare the same as other people. Thank goodness that AARP had the supplemental insurance program through a company. My friend paid a lot for supplemental coverage. Her medicines cost a fortune.

I imagine there are many more older people living with HIV now that the virus is not necessarily lethal. I don't know how much help the Health Depts provide now. I imagine it doesn't take long for people to go into the Part D gap. The medicines are very costly. PWAs probably qualify many times for catastrophic Part D coverage. I don't know.

HIV seems like it went underground when drugs to suppress the virus were found. As active as I once was, I never hear anything anymore for any age group. We don't even have HIV Memorial Day or World AIDS Day celebrations here, as far as I know. But then, I'm kind of lost in a world of old sitcom reruns and Game Show Network here.
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What is your specific question, Cheryl?
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