Seriously...
There are 2 things that I would like to say - both have been on my mind since a phone conversation i had on the weekend with a friend of mine....
A is 25 years old & has breast cancer, she was first diagnosed a couple of years ago now & it has been a long and hard struggle for her to try to beat this - we thought she had but its back again.
If you are female or if you are a guy reading this and you have any female friends, relatives etc, PLEASE don't think you or they are too young to get this - make sure you check regularly as if its caught early it makes such a difference.
Its not like its hard and it's not like it takes ages to do, please check and make sure you tell your friends to do so as well - it really can happen to you or someone you love.
Second - 2 of the people on the above list are HIV+ and both of them are under the age of 25... and they aren't the people you would automatically suspect.
Until a few weeks ago there would have been 3 people on the list that were HIV but a friend of mine recently passed away from an AIDS related illness.
He was 32 and it was actually a mercy for him to die.
He was not gay and he wasn't a drug user - he was just unfortunate enough to get it from an ex girlfriend who didn't know that she had picked it up from the guy she saw after they had broken up.
She was with that other guy for a year - he cheated, got it, gave it to her, they broke up (for other reasons), she caught up with my friend, they slept together and the rest is history... He didn't go get a blood test for another 6 1/2 years when he & his then gf decided to stop using condoms....
How many of us have had sex with an ex? Don't kid yourself that it couldn't happen to you.
The other 2 didn't get it from one night stands either - they both got it from their partners.
Ladies if he's having unprotected sex with you, don't kid yourself that he's not having unprotected sex with other women, guys, same thing applies....
There is a bit of an aids epidemic going on in Oz at the moment and the prime category is hetro females aged between 20 - 25. So if you are in that category or you are sleeping with someone who is, be careful.
It only takes once.
If you do have unprotected sex, make sure you get to the dr within 24 hours - there is actually a shot that they can give you so that even if you have been exposed to the virus, you wont contract it.
A friend of mine works at a medical clinic in Brisbane and she was saying that they had 4 confirmed cases last week - thats 4 cases at one medical clinic - how many medical clinics are there in your city ? And then ask yourself how many more people out there have it but think that they are just a bit run down (like these people did) and so haven't bothered going to the dr about it... It is seriously fucking scary to think about it and something like this brings it home.
Before my friends got sick, I wasn't as careful as i could have been - i freely admit that. My generation grew up with the grim reaper ads of the 80's so we are all 'safe sex'ed' out.
We can't afford to be.
if you have had unprotected sex since your last blood test, go get tested and please try not to do it again.
If you are one of those people that say that you would rather not know if you had it so you don't want to go get tested, i have one thing to say to you - imagine how you would feel if you accidently gave it to someone you love - a partner, a child, a friend... how do you live with that?
Better to check and be sure. It is seriously fucking heartbreaking to watch my friends struggle with this and how it will affect their dreams. If even one person reads this and takes the message to heart, then i will be happy.
*End of non-sponsored but straight from the heart health warning*
Don't worry, I'll post something a little more lighthearted a bit later today...
A is 25 years old & has breast cancer, she was first diagnosed a couple of years ago now & it has been a long and hard struggle for her to try to beat this - we thought she had but its back again.
If you are female or if you are a guy reading this and you have any female friends, relatives etc, PLEASE don't think you or they are too young to get this - make sure you check regularly as if its caught early it makes such a difference.
Its not like its hard and it's not like it takes ages to do, please check and make sure you tell your friends to do so as well - it really can happen to you or someone you love.
Second - 2 of the people on the above list are HIV+ and both of them are under the age of 25... and they aren't the people you would automatically suspect.
Until a few weeks ago there would have been 3 people on the list that were HIV but a friend of mine recently passed away from an AIDS related illness.
He was 32 and it was actually a mercy for him to die.
He was not gay and he wasn't a drug user - he was just unfortunate enough to get it from an ex girlfriend who didn't know that she had picked it up from the guy she saw after they had broken up.
She was with that other guy for a year - he cheated, got it, gave it to her, they broke up (for other reasons), she caught up with my friend, they slept together and the rest is history... He didn't go get a blood test for another 6 1/2 years when he & his then gf decided to stop using condoms....
How many of us have had sex with an ex? Don't kid yourself that it couldn't happen to you.
The other 2 didn't get it from one night stands either - they both got it from their partners.
Ladies if he's having unprotected sex with you, don't kid yourself that he's not having unprotected sex with other women, guys, same thing applies....
There is a bit of an aids epidemic going on in Oz at the moment and the prime category is hetro females aged between 20 - 25. So if you are in that category or you are sleeping with someone who is, be careful.
It only takes once.
If you do have unprotected sex, make sure you get to the dr within 24 hours - there is actually a shot that they can give you so that even if you have been exposed to the virus, you wont contract it.
A friend of mine works at a medical clinic in Brisbane and she was saying that they had 4 confirmed cases last week - thats 4 cases at one medical clinic - how many medical clinics are there in your city ? And then ask yourself how many more people out there have it but think that they are just a bit run down (like these people did) and so haven't bothered going to the dr about it... It is seriously fucking scary to think about it and something like this brings it home.
Before my friends got sick, I wasn't as careful as i could have been - i freely admit that. My generation grew up with the grim reaper ads of the 80's so we are all 'safe sex'ed' out.
We can't afford to be.
if you have had unprotected sex since your last blood test, go get tested and please try not to do it again.
If you are one of those people that say that you would rather not know if you had it so you don't want to go get tested, i have one thing to say to you - imagine how you would feel if you accidently gave it to someone you love - a partner, a child, a friend... how do you live with that?
Better to check and be sure. It is seriously fucking heartbreaking to watch my friends struggle with this and how it will affect their dreams. If even one person reads this and takes the message to heart, then i will be happy.
*End of non-sponsored but straight from the heart health warning*
Don't worry, I'll post something a little more lighthearted a bit later today...
posted by Giggleworthy @ 10:46 AM
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