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Truth is rarely kind: its demands are endless; its rewards offer few comforts; and it seems best to simply… ignore it. Fantasy — however hastily cobbled — is deemed the easier alternative, offering relief for those who need it most.
And this is the philosophy that guides many infected with the Human Immunodeficiency Virus (more commonly called HIV). There is no cure for this disease. There is no way to defeat it. And many assume that treatment therefore is a waste of time and dignity.
As of 2011, almost one percent of the total global population suffers from HIV. It’s estimated that half of those individuals don’t receive the necessary treatment — whether from a lack of awareness of their conditions, fear of social prejudice or even a dismissal of accepted medications. The causes are many, but the result is always the same: death.
The established protocols for HIV involve Highly Active Antiretroviral Therapy — a carefully measured combination of prescriptions, each meant to counter the effects of this illness. Over 40 percent of those diagnosed with this disease don’t receive them within early stages, however (and many take none at all). It’s believed that such treatment offers no rewards. There is no cure and medicine is then considered a failure.
It’s instead a value, however. Those who receive treatment have their lives extended by over 60 percent — gaining years instead of losing them. Death rates nearly triple among those left unaided; and the lack of Antiretroviral Therapy generates more debilitating symptoms.
It’s essential to accept treatment. Refuse the assumptions and battle the disease instead.





