Important note: Information in this article was accurate in 2003. The state of the art may have changed since the publication date. I am a concerned mother who knows little about the AIDS virus. My son was diagnosed with HIV and has now been diagnosed with full blown AIDS. He has KS and multiple lesions on his body. What can I expect next as the next stages of this disease and what time span am I looking at until the last days?
Ross Slotten, M.D.
Klein and Slotten Medical Associates
Private Practice in Family Medicine
With a special interest in HIV disease
I hope this message will give you some consolation. In your
note, you state that your son was recently diagnosed with HIV
disease, his first manifestation being KS. I presume that he has
never been treated for his HIV infection in the past. If so, he
has a very good chance of doing extremely well, once he starts a
potent anti-HIV medication regimen. His KS may initially advance
(and this can be treated with some mild chemotherapy); but in the
long-run, his KS should regress, even disappear, as his immune
system improves. However, there is the chance that his immune
system is so weak that he may develop other unusual and dangerous
infections until his medications kick in. Hopefully not. Our
therapies can now make HIV infection chronic-like the management
of diabetes. It is even conceivable that an infected person
could live a normal lifespan-though this is still speculation,
not something based on fact.
Don't lose hope...
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