Until There's A Cure
By Dr. Brian McDonough, Medical Editor
PHILADELPHIA (CBS) - If you are old enough to have been aware of current events in the 1980s I am certain that you recall the early years of HIV. Back in those years there was not much of a differentiation between HIV and AIDs because we thought every one with HIV was going to develop AIDs and there probably would not be much time to live.
In those years, survival was measured in months and not years. Fortunately, HIV has turned into a condition where decades can pass with proper treatment and adherence to medications. In those years we talked about a cure for AIDs but what we eventually developed was a way to make HIV a chronic illness.
I talk about this because it sounds glamorous to find a cure for cancer but the more we can control various forms of cancer the better. It is a subtle change in thinking but it is important because it can leads to even more research and development.
