Hello Fellow Bloggers,
This marks the last blog for this class. This last blog takes us through the end of the semester into the Thanksgiving holiday. For many of us we are visiting our families and for others we continue to work to take care of everyone else. During the course of this class, we have all learned about HIV/AIDS. We have all been a part of something great and exemplary. We are all going to take from this class what we need and continue to move in a direction of growth.
I learned over this semester that I'm really not great at keeping to a schedule and taking online classes requires alot of discipline and time. I've learned that family is more important than losing your cool in order to meet that 11:55 p.m. deadline. Sometimes priorities must take a proper order and family is more important. In families dealing with HIV/AIDS its amazing how much family really matters. Sometimes Thanksgiving is only a holiday full of lots of food, The Macy's Day Parade and football but for HIV/AIDS patients and their families it might be the last time they can all be together. So enjoying family in a time of ill health will be crucial in their emotional well-being.
Now that we're talking turkey... it's great knowing a little bit about the diet especially when it relates to HIV/AIDS. Did you know that patients with HIV/AIDS need extra vitamins and supplements. This extra supplementation and vitamin intake will help them maintain good weight and keep their immunity up. Although there is no special diet, by adopting a healthy eating lifestyle consisting of extra water and an intake of good lean proteins and fats, will ensure they stay around a little longer. For so many of us who have lost someone special way too soon... The implementation of a healthy lifestyle will give us all a reason to look forward to the holiday season!
Happy Blogging and to all a very Happy Thanksgiving!
Works cited:
Diet of HIV patients. (May 2007). HIV insite website. Retrieved November 26, 2009 from http://www.hivinsite.org/hiv?page=pb-daily-diet#S9X
Thursday, November 26, 2009
Wednesday, November 18, 2009
Blog #11 Education is just the beginning...
Hello Fellow Bloggers,
This week I'm trying to get things finished early because my ex-mother in law starts chemo this week so I need to be there with her.
I'm going to talk about how much this class has impacted me, not only on educating me on HIV disease but on life lessons as well. My grandfather was a wise, uneducated man and before he passed he sat me down and gave me a life lesson I will never forget. He said this to me in Spanish but I'll give it to you in English. He said, 'mija, you'll always have three things in life that you can't run away from; 1. taxes 2. death 3. and your legacy.' (yeyo)
I've learned that selfishness is not an honorable quality and by surrounding oneself with people who are selfish in nature, growth is a very unattainable goal. Living and prospering in today's society is about leaning on others and relying on help from everyone. I'm sure everyone is in accord when I say no of us could have gotten where we are if it weren't for family and friends who care and put us at the forefront of their thoughts and help in anyway possible to see us prosper. It indeed takes a village to grow into a great human being. We all need to feel wanted and must have a place in our own families in order to become the person we know we are destined to become.
How does that relate to HIV? It is selfishness that is one of the reasons I feel we've become the lax nation we are today. Its about the bottom line, the amount of money made, the size of our wallets and material things. In the movie, 'And The Band Played On, Dr. Don Francis stands up during a meeting in Atlanta, GA and said , 'how many more have to die before it becomes cost efficient for you to do something about it?' (film) The blood bank was selfish and didn't want to spend more money to implement testing for HIV in their blood bank supply and create procedures for testing future donations.
By creating a selfish population from children who only think of themselves to adults that imprint how our world operates. We've taken the golden rule and bent it to suit our own needs. Instead of treating others like we want to be treated we say treat others like we want and then charge them for it later. We stroke our own egos and that surely isn't helping our society and its definitely not helping to end this war with HIV disease. When are we as parents going to take initiative and lose our selfishness and start teaching our kids life lessons they need to survive? We tell them to brush their teeth, be polite, use their manners. Why can't we drop the front and teach them to protect themselves. I mean come on. We want them to be healthy and live a long productive life, right?
If we really think about it, we all have been selfish at some point in our lives. None of us can truly say that we are untouched by selfishness. In this class, we have answered questions like; if education isn't working what other methods can we use to educate on HIV disease, is it ethical to continue testing on monkeys in search of an HIV vaccine, would you give your sibling an infected organ if that was their only chance of living? and so on and so forth. They all are based on human selfishness. How we react in certain situations determines our level of selfishness.
Take this weeks question for example. If education isn't working as proven by an increase in HIV infection statistics, what other methods can we use to educate on HIV disease? This is a complex question in which, thinking outside the box is a must. I think everything starts at home. Whether you live in a two parent home, go to church regularly, your age, your orientation we all have something in common. We are all humans, we are all selfish and the only way to solve this problem is by educating our children and moving forward from there.
Did you know that according to Global AIDS Alliance, "Worldwide, over 15 million children under the age of 18 have lost one or both parents to AIDS—a number that is expected to reach 20 million by 2010." (globalaidsalliance.org) This is absolutely disheartening. I don't want to be selfish in sharing information that could be vital to my son's survival and have him become a statistic. The article really sheds a light on the tremendous impact HIV has on our children. Their lack of emotional support is what struck me hardest. I couldn't imagine not having my son to hug and kiss on. We really need to get off our high horses and support all of our children.
works cited:
Pablo Mora de Limon. Personal Conversation. Circa 1990.
Spottiswoode, Roger (Director). (September 11, 1993) And the Band Played On [TV Movie]. Sarah Pillsbury, Midge Sanford (Producers). Arnold Schulman (Writer) HBO
Protect the Children. (2009). Global AIDS Alliance website. Retrieved November 18, 2009 from http://www.globalaidsalliance.org/issues/protect_the_children/
This week I'm trying to get things finished early because my ex-mother in law starts chemo this week so I need to be there with her.
I'm going to talk about how much this class has impacted me, not only on educating me on HIV disease but on life lessons as well. My grandfather was a wise, uneducated man and before he passed he sat me down and gave me a life lesson I will never forget. He said this to me in Spanish but I'll give it to you in English. He said, 'mija, you'll always have three things in life that you can't run away from; 1. taxes 2. death 3. and your legacy.' (yeyo)
I've learned that selfishness is not an honorable quality and by surrounding oneself with people who are selfish in nature, growth is a very unattainable goal. Living and prospering in today's society is about leaning on others and relying on help from everyone. I'm sure everyone is in accord when I say no of us could have gotten where we are if it weren't for family and friends who care and put us at the forefront of their thoughts and help in anyway possible to see us prosper. It indeed takes a village to grow into a great human being. We all need to feel wanted and must have a place in our own families in order to become the person we know we are destined to become.
How does that relate to HIV? It is selfishness that is one of the reasons I feel we've become the lax nation we are today. Its about the bottom line, the amount of money made, the size of our wallets and material things. In the movie, 'And The Band Played On, Dr. Don Francis stands up during a meeting in Atlanta, GA and said , 'how many more have to die before it becomes cost efficient for you to do something about it?' (film) The blood bank was selfish and didn't want to spend more money to implement testing for HIV in their blood bank supply and create procedures for testing future donations.
By creating a selfish population from children who only think of themselves to adults that imprint how our world operates. We've taken the golden rule and bent it to suit our own needs. Instead of treating others like we want to be treated we say treat others like we want and then charge them for it later. We stroke our own egos and that surely isn't helping our society and its definitely not helping to end this war with HIV disease. When are we as parents going to take initiative and lose our selfishness and start teaching our kids life lessons they need to survive? We tell them to brush their teeth, be polite, use their manners. Why can't we drop the front and teach them to protect themselves. I mean come on. We want them to be healthy and live a long productive life, right?
If we really think about it, we all have been selfish at some point in our lives. None of us can truly say that we are untouched by selfishness. In this class, we have answered questions like; if education isn't working what other methods can we use to educate on HIV disease, is it ethical to continue testing on monkeys in search of an HIV vaccine, would you give your sibling an infected organ if that was their only chance of living? and so on and so forth. They all are based on human selfishness. How we react in certain situations determines our level of selfishness.
Take this weeks question for example. If education isn't working as proven by an increase in HIV infection statistics, what other methods can we use to educate on HIV disease? This is a complex question in which, thinking outside the box is a must. I think everything starts at home. Whether you live in a two parent home, go to church regularly, your age, your orientation we all have something in common. We are all humans, we are all selfish and the only way to solve this problem is by educating our children and moving forward from there.
Did you know that according to Global AIDS Alliance, "Worldwide, over 15 million children under the age of 18 have lost one or both parents to AIDS—a number that is expected to reach 20 million by 2010." (globalaidsalliance.org) This is absolutely disheartening. I don't want to be selfish in sharing information that could be vital to my son's survival and have him become a statistic. The article really sheds a light on the tremendous impact HIV has on our children. Their lack of emotional support is what struck me hardest. I couldn't imagine not having my son to hug and kiss on. We really need to get off our high horses and support all of our children.
works cited:
Pablo Mora de Limon. Personal Conversation. Circa 1990.
Spottiswoode, Roger (Director). (September 11, 1993) And the Band Played On [TV Movie]. Sarah Pillsbury, Midge Sanford (Producers). Arnold Schulman (Writer) HBO
Protect the Children. (2009). Global AIDS Alliance website. Retrieved November 18, 2009 from http://www.globalaidsalliance.org/issues/protect_the_children/
Wednesday, November 11, 2009
Blog #10 Freedom for all
Hello Fellow Bloggers,
I hope everyone has enjoyed their weekend and survived 'Ida' the tropical storm and their day off today for Veteran's Day. Everyone in my neck of the woods is still hanging in there. I've had this blog opened all week and have so much going on in my head that I can't focus on finishing it at all this week, so I'm giving it my best shot. Nini is still battling breast cancer and she starts chemo by the end of the month hopefully. Thank you to everyone for the many wishes sent her way.
This weeks blog is about the M&M simulation. M & M's are no longer a fun, tasty snack. If I were positive I wouldn't be healthy at all right now. Maintaining such a strict schedule is not as easy as I thought. I have put every excuse in the book to take them later. I take other medications that interfere with everything so its a tedious affair.
All in all if I didn't have my blackberry keeping me on schedule somewhat... I don't think I would be anywhere close to keeping on schedule. I feel like a corporate executive with my alarms and schedules.
I did talk to my sister and she said that the medications have advanced so much in the last ten years that there is no way to be even close to accurate of the ones he was taking back in the day. She said there were alot though 'the cocktail', everything was still very experimental and everything made him sick. I'm back to researching the meds on my own.
Did you know that the interactions between these medications are very difficult to overcome and not all of the anti-convulsant medications are even given to HIV patients due to the reaction of the virus with the composition of the pills themselves. I have a seizure disorder and have to take Dilantin. I have taken Tegretol, Klonopin, Cerebyx, Neurontin, Phenobarbital, Topamax, Depakote, and Zonegran. That doesn't leave many anti-seizures medications for me to take due to rashes and dizziness and other complications I had on the other meds. I'm not even HIV positive so that makes it even more challenging for those who are as these medications have heavy affects on the liver and must be monitored closely. That leaves Valium, Lamictal, Trileptal, Mysoline, and Gabitril. (Nursing Drug Handbook 34C) All of these medications have side effects and some can't even be taken for long periods of time or with an HIV/AIDS diagnosis. At the end of the day when your adding the side effects of a seizure disorder it doesn't help that they all don't work for you.
Works Cited:
Hodgson, RN, OCN, B. & Kizior, BS, RPh, R.(2000). Nursing Drug Handbook 2009. Missouri: Saunders Elsevier.
I hope everyone has enjoyed their weekend and survived 'Ida' the tropical storm and their day off today for Veteran's Day. Everyone in my neck of the woods is still hanging in there. I've had this blog opened all week and have so much going on in my head that I can't focus on finishing it at all this week, so I'm giving it my best shot. Nini is still battling breast cancer and she starts chemo by the end of the month hopefully. Thank you to everyone for the many wishes sent her way.
This weeks blog is about the M&M simulation. M & M's are no longer a fun, tasty snack. If I were positive I wouldn't be healthy at all right now. Maintaining such a strict schedule is not as easy as I thought. I have put every excuse in the book to take them later. I take other medications that interfere with everything so its a tedious affair.
All in all if I didn't have my blackberry keeping me on schedule somewhat... I don't think I would be anywhere close to keeping on schedule. I feel like a corporate executive with my alarms and schedules.
I did talk to my sister and she said that the medications have advanced so much in the last ten years that there is no way to be even close to accurate of the ones he was taking back in the day. She said there were alot though 'the cocktail', everything was still very experimental and everything made him sick. I'm back to researching the meds on my own.
Did you know that the interactions between these medications are very difficult to overcome and not all of the anti-convulsant medications are even given to HIV patients due to the reaction of the virus with the composition of the pills themselves. I have a seizure disorder and have to take Dilantin. I have taken Tegretol, Klonopin, Cerebyx, Neurontin, Phenobarbital, Topamax, Depakote, and Zonegran. That doesn't leave many anti-seizures medications for me to take due to rashes and dizziness and other complications I had on the other meds. I'm not even HIV positive so that makes it even more challenging for those who are as these medications have heavy affects on the liver and must be monitored closely. That leaves Valium, Lamictal, Trileptal, Mysoline, and Gabitril. (Nursing Drug Handbook 34C) All of these medications have side effects and some can't even be taken for long periods of time or with an HIV/AIDS diagnosis. At the end of the day when your adding the side effects of a seizure disorder it doesn't help that they all don't work for you.
Works Cited:
Hodgson, RN, OCN, B. & Kizior, BS, RPh, R.(2000). Nursing Drug Handbook 2009. Missouri: Saunders Elsevier.
Thursday, November 5, 2009
Blog # 9- New appreciation for M & M's and airplanes
Hello Fellow bloggers,
There have been a few interesting developments over this last week. Everyone is doing really well. Thank you to everyone who has been stopping in to read my blog. This week has been good and I'm finally feeling like I have a handle on life and its daily challenges; school is at the half way point so only a little bit to go for this first semester at UCF to be over, my family has gotten into a groove and its really nice, work is good. So overall, life is good. I hope all of you are doing well.
Its been another week and midterms are almost over. Gosh I never realized how much I've learned until this week. I can say I'm somewhat educated on HIV/AIDS disease in ways that I never knew before. Even though my brother had AIDS, I wasn't around very much because my family lived in another country at the time. When we returned other opportunistic illnesses had overcome his body and within a few years of us living in the states again he lost his battle. I'm going to call my sister today for some help on the next assignment regarding daily-living with HIV/AIDS including all its medications and schedules. It is the M & M's substitute for the cocktail of HIV/AIDS medications taken daily by positive patients. I hope my asking her about the side effects of HIV/AIDS medications will not upset her, but I am confident that she will see me wanting to expand my knowledge and be safer out there in our sexual world. That will help with the assignment, I hope.
This weeks QOTW was quite the fire starter. You never really know what kind of passion one sparks when posing an ethical question such that includes animals, children, religion, politics, and research. Topics that really shouldn't be talked about in mixed company and definitely seeing the responses proves that theory to be very true. Reading some of the responses about yes continuing research and some no stop hurting the poor animals. Here is how I look at it... Animals and humans have life... life is breath and a heartbeat, a brain with brainwaves, some debate on emotions and feelings, but nevertheless its a life. Now if we think about animal research specifically chimps and the prospect of finding a viable cure to HIV/AIDS or any other disease, I am a firm believer that research should continue. People have been studied and experimented on since 6th Century B.C. with an experiment of meat and vegetables on Jewish prisoners(ahrp.org). There are alot of experiments on prisoners, Jews, children, Japanese, Chinese as well as other races and some of these experiments are absolutely horrific and were performed by very influential doctors at the time but have impacted our society in such ways that diseases have been eradicated and certain luxury's have been improved.
Through all of these horrors and human casualties we have learned something,tests were performed and I can almost guarantee anyone who has a family member who has won their battle on cancer via radiation therapy does not realize this fact. In 1931, "Dr. Cornelius Rhoads, a pathologist, conducted a cancer experiment in Puerto Rico under the auspices of the Rockefeller Institute for Medical Investigations. Dr. Rhoads has been accused of purposely infecting his Puerto Rican subjects with cancer cells. Thirteen of the subjects died. A Puerto Rican physician uncovered the experiment an investigation covered-up the facts. Despite Rhoads' hand written statements that the Puerto Rican population should be eradicated, Rhoads went on to establish U.S. Army Biological Warfare facilities in Maryland, Utah, and Panama, and was later named to the U.S. Atomic Energy Commission. Rhoads was also responsible for the radiation experiments on prisoners, hospital patients, and soldiers. The American Association for Cancer Research honored him by naming its exemplary scientist award the Cornelius Rhoads Award." (ahrp.org)
The point is that humans perform tests and experiments on any particular living thing. We are hypocritical beasts. We criticize all the research but don't take the opportunity to thank those who gave us hope and knowledge after their sacrifice to produce the results that eventually save lives. Did you know that in as early as 1984, guidelines were established to regulate confidentiality, procedures for the purpose of researching AIDS and the protection of patients' human rights living with the disease? Even during the early years of the pandemic, we were humane enough to adopt certain protections to prevent cruelty for the sole purpose of research. We have vaccines that now cure diseases like polio and other little things we take for granted such as the effects of high altitudes tested on Jewish prisoners of the Dachua Concentration Camp in 1942(ahrp.org)and all of this thanks to experimentation on animals and humans. Think about that next time you board a plane and complain that your seat won't recline and the soft cushy pillow just doesn't make you comfortable. Wow, thinking about this really ticks me off so on that note I'm calling it a night.
Laterz fellow bloggers, until next week or the next soap box.
Works Cited:
AIDS research and humans. (December 26, 1984). AIDS research. U.S. Department of Health and Human Services website. Retrieved November 5, 2009 from http://www.hhs.gov/ohrp/humansubjects/guidance/hsdc84dec.htm
World War II and human research. (October 28, 2009). Human Experiments: A Chronology of Human Research. ahrp website. Retrieved November 5, 2009 from http://www.ahrp.org/history/chronology.php
There have been a few interesting developments over this last week. Everyone is doing really well. Thank you to everyone who has been stopping in to read my blog. This week has been good and I'm finally feeling like I have a handle on life and its daily challenges; school is at the half way point so only a little bit to go for this first semester at UCF to be over, my family has gotten into a groove and its really nice, work is good. So overall, life is good. I hope all of you are doing well.
Its been another week and midterms are almost over. Gosh I never realized how much I've learned until this week. I can say I'm somewhat educated on HIV/AIDS disease in ways that I never knew before. Even though my brother had AIDS, I wasn't around very much because my family lived in another country at the time. When we returned other opportunistic illnesses had overcome his body and within a few years of us living in the states again he lost his battle. I'm going to call my sister today for some help on the next assignment regarding daily-living with HIV/AIDS including all its medications and schedules. It is the M & M's substitute for the cocktail of HIV/AIDS medications taken daily by positive patients. I hope my asking her about the side effects of HIV/AIDS medications will not upset her, but I am confident that she will see me wanting to expand my knowledge and be safer out there in our sexual world. That will help with the assignment, I hope.
This weeks QOTW was quite the fire starter. You never really know what kind of passion one sparks when posing an ethical question such that includes animals, children, religion, politics, and research. Topics that really shouldn't be talked about in mixed company and definitely seeing the responses proves that theory to be very true. Reading some of the responses about yes continuing research and some no stop hurting the poor animals. Here is how I look at it... Animals and humans have life... life is breath and a heartbeat, a brain with brainwaves, some debate on emotions and feelings, but nevertheless its a life. Now if we think about animal research specifically chimps and the prospect of finding a viable cure to HIV/AIDS or any other disease, I am a firm believer that research should continue. People have been studied and experimented on since 6th Century B.C. with an experiment of meat and vegetables on Jewish prisoners(ahrp.org). There are alot of experiments on prisoners, Jews, children, Japanese, Chinese as well as other races and some of these experiments are absolutely horrific and were performed by very influential doctors at the time but have impacted our society in such ways that diseases have been eradicated and certain luxury's have been improved.
Through all of these horrors and human casualties we have learned something,tests were performed and I can almost guarantee anyone who has a family member who has won their battle on cancer via radiation therapy does not realize this fact. In 1931, "Dr. Cornelius Rhoads, a pathologist, conducted a cancer experiment in Puerto Rico under the auspices of the Rockefeller Institute for Medical Investigations. Dr. Rhoads has been accused of purposely infecting his Puerto Rican subjects with cancer cells. Thirteen of the subjects died. A Puerto Rican physician uncovered the experiment an investigation covered-up the facts. Despite Rhoads' hand written statements that the Puerto Rican population should be eradicated, Rhoads went on to establish U.S. Army Biological Warfare facilities in Maryland, Utah, and Panama, and was later named to the U.S. Atomic Energy Commission. Rhoads was also responsible for the radiation experiments on prisoners, hospital patients, and soldiers. The American Association for Cancer Research honored him by naming its exemplary scientist award the Cornelius Rhoads Award." (ahrp.org)
The point is that humans perform tests and experiments on any particular living thing. We are hypocritical beasts. We criticize all the research but don't take the opportunity to thank those who gave us hope and knowledge after their sacrifice to produce the results that eventually save lives. Did you know that in as early as 1984, guidelines were established to regulate confidentiality, procedures for the purpose of researching AIDS and the protection of patients' human rights living with the disease? Even during the early years of the pandemic, we were humane enough to adopt certain protections to prevent cruelty for the sole purpose of research. We have vaccines that now cure diseases like polio and other little things we take for granted such as the effects of high altitudes tested on Jewish prisoners of the Dachua Concentration Camp in 1942(ahrp.org)and all of this thanks to experimentation on animals and humans. Think about that next time you board a plane and complain that your seat won't recline and the soft cushy pillow just doesn't make you comfortable. Wow, thinking about this really ticks me off so on that note I'm calling it a night.
Laterz fellow bloggers, until next week or the next soap box.
Works Cited:
AIDS research and humans. (December 26, 1984). AIDS research. U.S. Department of Health and Human Services website. Retrieved November 5, 2009 from http://www.hhs.gov/ohrp/humansubjects/guidance/hsdc84dec.htm
World War II and human research. (October 28, 2009). Human Experiments: A Chronology of Human Research. ahrp website. Retrieved November 5, 2009 from http://www.ahrp.org/history/chronology.php
Thursday, October 29, 2009
Blog # 8 - Removing a mound of a problem
Hello fellow bloggers,
The week is almost over thank goodness. For those of you who are following my blog thank you so much for your kind words of encouragement and best wishes to my family. Everyone is doing very well! My brother as you guys know has been cancer free since his last biopsy. Its exciting news! My ex-mother in law (Nini) had her surgery a week later after her diagnosis. The waiting room was filled with so many people; friends, family and a bunch of ex's. However, everyone was there for her. We laughed and kept everyone's spirits up. I didn't get to see her before she went under the knife, but I was assured she was in good spirits and in good hands. She had so many people there for her, it was amazing.
The surgery went well. Nini had a rough night but today she's so much better. The bad mound is gone along with some other hills but all in all I think her outcome is great. She'll probably have to do a few rounds of chemotherapy but all is well. When we talk cancer it is such a scary word. Depending on the stage of cancer will determine the outcome and prognosis of the patient. How does cancer affect HIV/AIDS patients?
We know from this class and all the research each of us have done that HIV progresses into AIDS when CD4 levels drop below 200 and opportunistic infections attack the body. We also have learned that Kaposi's Sarcoma is a type of cancer that presents itself as lesions and bluish spots on the arms, legs, torso and face. This is a malignant type of cancer. This type of cancer is treated with chemotherapy and radiation. There are other types of cancer that HIV patients are susceptible too as well such as lung cancer. Did you know that 60% to 70% of HIV patients smoke? (www.health.state.ny.us) I didn't think that the smoking rate was so high. One has to consider how tough it is to receive a positive diagnosis and at that time who can really blame them. I've known several HIV/AIDS patients and all of them smoked but I never really did any research on the connection. Of course we all know that smoking isn't good for healthy people so why would it be good for people with compromised immune systems. Encouraging better living habits including improving one's diet, stopping all of the things that would cause the patient harm and overall wanting to live. Without a desire to live there is really nothing anyone can say or do to help HIV/AIDS patients improve their diagnosis.
Ultimately, removing a mound of a problem benefits the patient and the prognosis is better for that person whether he or she is HIV positive or negative. Removing the cancer ridden organ or part of the body is the easy part. The challenging part is establishing the initial desire to live. I think in today's day and age, the face of HIV/AIDS is a hopeful one and no longer a death sentence.
I'll keep you all posted on life around the Phillips household. Again, thank you all for your concern and kind words.
Until laterz boggers
Works cited:
Cancer and HIV/AIDS. Health.state.ny.us website. Retrieved October 29, 2009 from http://www.health.state.ny.us/diseases/aids/docs/doh-9532.pdf
The week is almost over thank goodness. For those of you who are following my blog thank you so much for your kind words of encouragement and best wishes to my family. Everyone is doing very well! My brother as you guys know has been cancer free since his last biopsy. Its exciting news! My ex-mother in law (Nini) had her surgery a week later after her diagnosis. The waiting room was filled with so many people; friends, family and a bunch of ex's. However, everyone was there for her. We laughed and kept everyone's spirits up. I didn't get to see her before she went under the knife, but I was assured she was in good spirits and in good hands. She had so many people there for her, it was amazing.
The surgery went well. Nini had a rough night but today she's so much better. The bad mound is gone along with some other hills but all in all I think her outcome is great. She'll probably have to do a few rounds of chemotherapy but all is well. When we talk cancer it is such a scary word. Depending on the stage of cancer will determine the outcome and prognosis of the patient. How does cancer affect HIV/AIDS patients?
We know from this class and all the research each of us have done that HIV progresses into AIDS when CD4 levels drop below 200 and opportunistic infections attack the body. We also have learned that Kaposi's Sarcoma is a type of cancer that presents itself as lesions and bluish spots on the arms, legs, torso and face. This is a malignant type of cancer. This type of cancer is treated with chemotherapy and radiation. There are other types of cancer that HIV patients are susceptible too as well such as lung cancer. Did you know that 60% to 70% of HIV patients smoke? (www.health.state.ny.us) I didn't think that the smoking rate was so high. One has to consider how tough it is to receive a positive diagnosis and at that time who can really blame them. I've known several HIV/AIDS patients and all of them smoked but I never really did any research on the connection. Of course we all know that smoking isn't good for healthy people so why would it be good for people with compromised immune systems. Encouraging better living habits including improving one's diet, stopping all of the things that would cause the patient harm and overall wanting to live. Without a desire to live there is really nothing anyone can say or do to help HIV/AIDS patients improve their diagnosis.
Ultimately, removing a mound of a problem benefits the patient and the prognosis is better for that person whether he or she is HIV positive or negative. Removing the cancer ridden organ or part of the body is the easy part. The challenging part is establishing the initial desire to live. I think in today's day and age, the face of HIV/AIDS is a hopeful one and no longer a death sentence.
I'll keep you all posted on life around the Phillips household. Again, thank you all for your concern and kind words.
Until laterz boggers
Works cited:
Cancer and HIV/AIDS. Health.state.ny.us website. Retrieved October 29, 2009 from http://www.health.state.ny.us/diseases/aids/docs/doh-9532.pdf
Wednesday, October 21, 2009
Blog # 7 The Cancer Among Us
Hello Fellow Bloggers,
I thought last week was emotionally trying, I should have waited to make that statement this week. On a good note, my brother's biopsy came back negative. He spent a week in Houston going through testing and biopsies. His doctor's cleared him on Monday. On a not so good note, my ex-mother-in law on was diagnosed with breast cancer on Monday. So we'll be going through some chemotherapy after all and alot of surgery over the next few weeks.
That takes me to the hypothetical scenario of this weeks question. This weeks question really tore me. the question was, would I give my HIV infected kidney to my sibling if they only had three days to live waiting for a kidney transplant. I don't know what I would do, nor would I know how to feel about giving up my HIV positive kidney to a sibling who is in her/his last days waiting for that life saving kidney. Can we say alot of therapy to get over guilt for giving someone I love an infected organ or losing that someone because I didn't want to try to convince her or him to take the kidney. I went through a similar situation with my father. He had 11% kidney function in both kidneys. My brother and I were a match for him but he refused our kidney's. All he could say was I've lived a great life and you kids are going to need yours. You see kidney disease runs in our family so that's the only reason he said it. I was not prepared to see him leave this world but in a way I understood. He just wanted us to live a happy and full life just as he had.
Now I have a different scenario for you. My brother and I didn't have an HIV infected kidney, we just wanted our dad. We were both healthy at the time of my father's need for a kidney. So that brings me to the next scenario. Considering this is Breast Cancer awareness month and I have someone in my family who was diagnosed with breast cancer, I would like to put this on the table. I have heard my friends talk about donating a breast if someone they loved were diagnosed with breast cancer. I personally have never heard of someone doing this, nor have I heard of someone who is an HIV positive patient donating a breast. Again, assuming this scenario were completely hypothetical it would be a very noble cause, but seriously, what kind of life would these women live. So they already have to deal with cancer, and now they have to deal with the possibility of their bodies not accepting the organ; not to mention if their bodies do accept the organ, what kind of life would they be awarded. This question is about quality not quantity. We start counting our days when we are born and reach that magical number hopefully many years from the beginning of the count.
Okay so now that that thought is in your mind lets throw a wrench in it. We have an HIV negative breast cancer patient and an HIV positive, otherwise healthy-possible donor. Assuming something happens with the HIV positive patient during the surgery and he or she went down hill from there and ultimately died from trying to save someone else. Assuming also that this person was a woman who was a lesbian who wanted to help her straight brother with his need for a kidney. Who's going to feel guiltier? The straight brother or the remaining family members and friends of the lesbian donor. Are we going to hold her up on a pedestal considering that she died for a great cause, trying to save her brother or is it going to be a situation where its brushed under the rug because she was gay and HIV positive. Its a perceptual thought and one in which, I'm not found of thinking about. I can predict what would happen and not realizing the reality of my prediction can assume that its a very biased decision. I hope I'm wrong but the 1980's bears that stamp and if history truly repeats itself, women have no chance in this world of taking our place within it. We will never be respected in our endeavors and love for others and our abilities to grow life with discretion of how the life we're growing will prosper.
Now let's go back to the 1980's when AIDS was so undiscovered that a name didn't even exist. We have what was known then as the homosexual cancer... yep you guessed it...
Did you know that it wasn't until the first woman was discovered to have this 'cancer' that everyone was afraid of and no one knew how it was contracted nor did they know from where the cure was to come, that they considered it a disease that could possibly affect everyone other than just the gay community. Here are just a few statistics according to the CDC that might shock others just as it did me. Just for the record... Women have to join one another and try to fight this disease because... guess what? We are a huge gear in this life-wheel of disease and life.
"-HIV/AIDS was diagnosed for an estimated 9,708 women.
-High-risk heterosexual contact was the source of 80% of these newly diagnosed infections.
-Women accounted for 26% of the estimated 37,163 diagnoses for adults and adolescents.
-Of the 126,964 women living with HIV/AIDS, 64% were black, 19% were white, 15% were Hispanic, 1% were Asian or Pacific Islander, and less than 1% were American Indian or Alaska Native .
-The estimated number of HIV/AIDS in female adults or adolescents decreased from 11,941 in 2001 to 9,708 in 2005.
-According to a recent CDC study of more than 19,500 patients with HIV in 10 US cities, women were slightly less likely than men to receive prescriptions for the most effective treatments for HIV infection (cdc.gov)
These statistics are rather scary. We as women should stop and rethink the situation when sleeping with someone and possibly getting pregnant or a disease. I'm not sure about everyone else but for me to bring someone into this world knowing that I'm positive and their quality of life will be compromised and possibly knowing that the child won't live to drive is a burden I don't want to carry. Nor do I want to feel guilty for giving someone life when I knew that just as in the kidney situation, my loved one would spend the rest of their life fighting for something that was never theirs to fight.
laterz bloggers
works cited
HIV/AIDS and women. cdc.gov.website. Retrieved October 21, 2009 from http://www.cdc.gov/hiv/topics/women/resources/factsheets/women.htm
I thought last week was emotionally trying, I should have waited to make that statement this week. On a good note, my brother's biopsy came back negative. He spent a week in Houston going through testing and biopsies. His doctor's cleared him on Monday. On a not so good note, my ex-mother-in law on was diagnosed with breast cancer on Monday. So we'll be going through some chemotherapy after all and alot of surgery over the next few weeks.
That takes me to the hypothetical scenario of this weeks question. This weeks question really tore me. the question was, would I give my HIV infected kidney to my sibling if they only had three days to live waiting for a kidney transplant. I don't know what I would do, nor would I know how to feel about giving up my HIV positive kidney to a sibling who is in her/his last days waiting for that life saving kidney. Can we say alot of therapy to get over guilt for giving someone I love an infected organ or losing that someone because I didn't want to try to convince her or him to take the kidney. I went through a similar situation with my father. He had 11% kidney function in both kidneys. My brother and I were a match for him but he refused our kidney's. All he could say was I've lived a great life and you kids are going to need yours. You see kidney disease runs in our family so that's the only reason he said it. I was not prepared to see him leave this world but in a way I understood. He just wanted us to live a happy and full life just as he had.
Now I have a different scenario for you. My brother and I didn't have an HIV infected kidney, we just wanted our dad. We were both healthy at the time of my father's need for a kidney. So that brings me to the next scenario. Considering this is Breast Cancer awareness month and I have someone in my family who was diagnosed with breast cancer, I would like to put this on the table. I have heard my friends talk about donating a breast if someone they loved were diagnosed with breast cancer. I personally have never heard of someone doing this, nor have I heard of someone who is an HIV positive patient donating a breast. Again, assuming this scenario were completely hypothetical it would be a very noble cause, but seriously, what kind of life would these women live. So they already have to deal with cancer, and now they have to deal with the possibility of their bodies not accepting the organ; not to mention if their bodies do accept the organ, what kind of life would they be awarded. This question is about quality not quantity. We start counting our days when we are born and reach that magical number hopefully many years from the beginning of the count.
Okay so now that that thought is in your mind lets throw a wrench in it. We have an HIV negative breast cancer patient and an HIV positive, otherwise healthy-possible donor. Assuming something happens with the HIV positive patient during the surgery and he or she went down hill from there and ultimately died from trying to save someone else. Assuming also that this person was a woman who was a lesbian who wanted to help her straight brother with his need for a kidney. Who's going to feel guiltier? The straight brother or the remaining family members and friends of the lesbian donor. Are we going to hold her up on a pedestal considering that she died for a great cause, trying to save her brother or is it going to be a situation where its brushed under the rug because she was gay and HIV positive. Its a perceptual thought and one in which, I'm not found of thinking about. I can predict what would happen and not realizing the reality of my prediction can assume that its a very biased decision. I hope I'm wrong but the 1980's bears that stamp and if history truly repeats itself, women have no chance in this world of taking our place within it. We will never be respected in our endeavors and love for others and our abilities to grow life with discretion of how the life we're growing will prosper.
Now let's go back to the 1980's when AIDS was so undiscovered that a name didn't even exist. We have what was known then as the homosexual cancer... yep you guessed it...
Did you know that it wasn't until the first woman was discovered to have this 'cancer' that everyone was afraid of and no one knew how it was contracted nor did they know from where the cure was to come, that they considered it a disease that could possibly affect everyone other than just the gay community. Here are just a few statistics according to the CDC that might shock others just as it did me. Just for the record... Women have to join one another and try to fight this disease because... guess what? We are a huge gear in this life-wheel of disease and life.
"-HIV/AIDS was diagnosed for an estimated 9,708 women.
-High-risk heterosexual contact was the source of 80% of these newly diagnosed infections.
-Women accounted for 26% of the estimated 37,163 diagnoses for adults and adolescents.
-Of the 126,964 women living with HIV/AIDS, 64% were black, 19% were white, 15% were Hispanic, 1% were Asian or Pacific Islander, and less than 1% were American Indian or Alaska Native .
-The estimated number of HIV/AIDS in female adults or adolescents decreased from 11,941 in 2001 to 9,708 in 2005.
-According to a recent CDC study of more than 19,500 patients with HIV in 10 US cities, women were slightly less likely than men to receive prescriptions for the most effective treatments for HIV infection (cdc.gov)
These statistics are rather scary. We as women should stop and rethink the situation when sleeping with someone and possibly getting pregnant or a disease. I'm not sure about everyone else but for me to bring someone into this world knowing that I'm positive and their quality of life will be compromised and possibly knowing that the child won't live to drive is a burden I don't want to carry. Nor do I want to feel guilty for giving someone life when I knew that just as in the kidney situation, my loved one would spend the rest of their life fighting for something that was never theirs to fight.
laterz bloggers
works cited
HIV/AIDS and women. cdc.gov.website. Retrieved October 21, 2009 from http://www.cdc.gov/hiv/topics/women/resources/factsheets/women.htm
Wednesday, October 14, 2009
Blog # 6- Mexico mi querida
Hi fellow Bloggers,
This week has been full of ups and downs and I'm not really sure where to begin this blog. Hopefully I'll keep your attention this week. Part of this weeks assignment was to pick a country and research figures on their confidentiality policy regarding AIDS. I picked Mexico, I was born in Guadalajara, Jalisco, and I haven't been back since my grandfather passed away about eleven years ago. I was really surprised when I found this link on you tube on a Mexican website. Even though its in English, its pretty self explanatory. http://www.aids-sida.org/menu.html In Spanish the title is Goma de Mascar, which means chewing gum...
In doing the research for this assignment, I realized that Mexico is not on board socially, economically, politically and the stigma against the HIV/AIDS population is stronger than ever. We thought things were bad in the early 80's regarding the treatment of the U.S. HIV/AIDS patients we should look at our neighbors to the South. Mexico is a country with some of the lowest HIV infection prevalence rates in the World, but its not because of great HIV education or a low Drug rate; sadly its the stigma and discrimination towards the HIV positive population. Unfortunately, human rights aren't observed in Mexico as they are in the U.S. The Mexican Constitution has added amendments since their admissions into the North American Free Trade Agreement (NAFTA) concerning Human Rights and the treatment of the population.
"in 1990 the Mexican Federal Government created the National Human Rights Commission (Comisión Nacional de Derechos Humanos or CNDH). This new institution, with local branches in each of the 32 Mexican states, symbolized the Mexican government's willingness to address human rights issues. Several complications, however, have plagued the efforts of the CNDH to enforce the existing legal mechanisms for protecting human rights. The most important stumbling block has been the inability or unwillingness of the national authorities in Mexico to enforce existing laws and legislation." (wcl.american.edu)
The reason for these low rates can be attributed to the fact that Mexican people just don't want to find out their status for fear of ridicule, discrimination, and fear of losing what little they have. Mexican households are predominantly Catholic and even though the culture is very family oriented, when it comes down to an HIV/AIDS diagnosis, people are very scared. In the U.S. it has been close to thirty years and retroviral drugs are more readily available. The fear factor isn't as much a concern anymore because of the education imposed on our society. The way we treat people who are HIV positive is much different here than in Mexico. We know that this disease isn't contracted by casual contact, and that is a blood borne disease, which is contracted through intravenous drug use and sexual contact with an infected person. However, in Mexico, they don't even know what HIV is and they are still stuck in the 80's when it comes to the education level. Their knowledge is very minimal therefore, because the stigma is so strong, alot of Mexicans fear if they get tested and positively diagnosed they will die for sure. Treatment is not readily available and people's fear dominate their attitudes toward the disease.
In August 2008, in Mexico City, Mexico the XVII World's AIDS conference opened. It is the largest AIDS conference which is held every two years usually in different locations. Last year's location of the conference was a great way to bring light and knowledge to the people of Mexico and the world. This was a wonderful event that introduced new policies in the fight for human rights and confidentiality of status. "Using health data of individuals for public health goals must be balanced against individuals’ rights to privacy and confidentiality, and should be based on human rights principles." (unaids.org)
Did you know that in Mexico women are at the highest risk for HIV because of their husbands and boyfriends leaving for the states for a better life for their families. They leave and often times bring HIV back into their Mexican homes. They never let their families know until its too late when they are symptomatic. So you see HIV/AIDS affects everyone, even the unknowing.
until laterz bloggers
Works cited:
Confidentiality and AIDS in Mexico. unaids.org. website Retrieved October 12, 2009 from http://www.unaids.org/en/KnowledgeCentre/HIVData/Confidentiality/default.asp
Confidentiality and AIDS in Mexico. wcl.american.org.website Retrieved October 12, 2009 from http://www.wcl.american.edu/hrbrief/v3i3/hivmex33.htm
This week has been full of ups and downs and I'm not really sure where to begin this blog. Hopefully I'll keep your attention this week. Part of this weeks assignment was to pick a country and research figures on their confidentiality policy regarding AIDS. I picked Mexico, I was born in Guadalajara, Jalisco, and I haven't been back since my grandfather passed away about eleven years ago. I was really surprised when I found this link on you tube on a Mexican website. Even though its in English, its pretty self explanatory. http://www.aids-sida.org/menu.html In Spanish the title is Goma de Mascar, which means chewing gum...
In doing the research for this assignment, I realized that Mexico is not on board socially, economically, politically and the stigma against the HIV/AIDS population is stronger than ever. We thought things were bad in the early 80's regarding the treatment of the U.S. HIV/AIDS patients we should look at our neighbors to the South. Mexico is a country with some of the lowest HIV infection prevalence rates in the World, but its not because of great HIV education or a low Drug rate; sadly its the stigma and discrimination towards the HIV positive population. Unfortunately, human rights aren't observed in Mexico as they are in the U.S. The Mexican Constitution has added amendments since their admissions into the North American Free Trade Agreement (NAFTA) concerning Human Rights and the treatment of the population.
"in 1990 the Mexican Federal Government created the National Human Rights Commission (Comisión Nacional de Derechos Humanos or CNDH). This new institution, with local branches in each of the 32 Mexican states, symbolized the Mexican government's willingness to address human rights issues. Several complications, however, have plagued the efforts of the CNDH to enforce the existing legal mechanisms for protecting human rights. The most important stumbling block has been the inability or unwillingness of the national authorities in Mexico to enforce existing laws and legislation." (wcl.american.edu)
The reason for these low rates can be attributed to the fact that Mexican people just don't want to find out their status for fear of ridicule, discrimination, and fear of losing what little they have. Mexican households are predominantly Catholic and even though the culture is very family oriented, when it comes down to an HIV/AIDS diagnosis, people are very scared. In the U.S. it has been close to thirty years and retroviral drugs are more readily available. The fear factor isn't as much a concern anymore because of the education imposed on our society. The way we treat people who are HIV positive is much different here than in Mexico. We know that this disease isn't contracted by casual contact, and that is a blood borne disease, which is contracted through intravenous drug use and sexual contact with an infected person. However, in Mexico, they don't even know what HIV is and they are still stuck in the 80's when it comes to the education level. Their knowledge is very minimal therefore, because the stigma is so strong, alot of Mexicans fear if they get tested and positively diagnosed they will die for sure. Treatment is not readily available and people's fear dominate their attitudes toward the disease.
In August 2008, in Mexico City, Mexico the XVII World's AIDS conference opened. It is the largest AIDS conference which is held every two years usually in different locations. Last year's location of the conference was a great way to bring light and knowledge to the people of Mexico and the world. This was a wonderful event that introduced new policies in the fight for human rights and confidentiality of status. "Using health data of individuals for public health goals must be balanced against individuals’ rights to privacy and confidentiality, and should be based on human rights principles." (unaids.org)
Did you know that in Mexico women are at the highest risk for HIV because of their husbands and boyfriends leaving for the states for a better life for their families. They leave and often times bring HIV back into their Mexican homes. They never let their families know until its too late when they are symptomatic. So you see HIV/AIDS affects everyone, even the unknowing.
until laterz bloggers
Works cited:
Confidentiality and AIDS in Mexico. unaids.org. website Retrieved October 12, 2009 from http://www.unaids.org/en/KnowledgeCentre/HIVData/Confidentiality/default.asp
Confidentiality and AIDS in Mexico. wcl.american.org.website Retrieved October 12, 2009 from http://www.wcl.american.edu/hrbrief/v3i3/hivmex33.htm
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