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| Optimism and Messages of Hope on World AIDS Day |
A local doctor says in just the last few decades, a disease still described by some as a pandemic has advanced from being something of a death sentence, to something that is very much manageable.
Wednesday was "World AIDS Day", with this year's theme being "Universal Access and Human Rights," and Galesburg oncologist Doctor John McLean was the featured speaker at a ceremony at the Knox County Health Department.
McLean says since the first drug for HIV and AIDS treatment was introduced in 1987, to advances in multi-drug therapy, the advances have been something to cheer.
"I don't think anybody should be critical of the scientific community in terms of development and treatment of HIV, this is a phenomenal record in a matter of 25 to 30 years, people are now living, as researchers say, a fairly normal life."
But as much as there should be cheering and hope, McLean says there's still a long way to go.
McLean says there still needs to be better access to drugs and drug therapies for AIDS and HIV patients, with medication costs still an issue. He also says there still needs to be better educating the public about the diseases and how to prevent the spread of them.
(Mike McGinn, dress in white, accepts a check to Friends of People with AIDS in the amount of $7,413 from the HIV/AIDS Task force of Western Illinois Wednesday night.)
(A tree in front of the Knox County Health Department is lighted in red in remembrance of World AIDS Day. WGIL News story and photos by Will Stevenson.) |
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| 12 02 10 by Newsroom |
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