Bay Area Reporter - October 6, 2005
Matthew S. Bajko, m.bajko@ebar.com

"I was in bed hooked up to all these tubes. My doctors called my parents to come out from the East Coast. It was pretty severe," recalled Stern of that time in 1996.

But Stern eluded death's grip. He credits being massaged as the miracle therapy that nursed him back to health.

"There was someone in Santa Barbara where I was living who had set up an ad hoc massage clinic for people with AIDS. For me, it was the one treatment that I underwent that actually felt good. The drugs were terrible, giving blood all the time, the CAT scans and other procedures all hurt," said the 48-year-old Stern. "The idea that someone was willing to touch me; I didn't have sex for four and half years, I was never intimate with anybody, I felt untouchable essentially. To have someone willing to touch me made the difference, especially since it was volunteers. I wasn't paying them, they were doing it because they wanted to help, they cared. It was a huge turning point for me."

Nearly a decade later Stern's health is stable and he is using his own hands to apply a healing touch to people living with HIV or AIDS in San Francisco. As soon as he felt strong enough, Stern moved to San Francisco in 1996 to access the city's celebrated healthcare system. Three years later he became a certified massage therapist and began helping other HIVers in their healing process.

"When I was really ill the only person who talked to me was my massage therapist. Every week I looked forward to that," said Stern, who continues to receive at least two massages per month.

In 2001 he founded Positive Being with a group of volunteer massage therapists who offered free or low-cost massages to AIDS patients. In January, he incorporated into a full fledged nonprofit, forming a board and applying for 501 (c)3 status.

"We had one client very early on who I felt it helped him come out of his shell. He was very isolated. He came for massage almost once a week," recalled Stern. "By receiving touch, he joined a gym, began socializing, and now he is no longer a client. We are not only reintegrating people into society but are helping people build confidence. We help them on some level restructure their lives."

Several small research studies over the years have shown massage therapy to benefit people with depressed immune systems. In 1996 the International Journal of Neuroscience reported on a study conducted with 23 HIV-positive and 10 HIV-negative men, where the men received a month of daily 45-minute massages and alternately a month without massage. The study found that the massage group showed significant increases in natural killer cell cytotoxicity, cytotoxic T-cells, relaxation levels, and significant decreases in urinary cortisol and states of anxiety. In 2000, the Journal of Consulting & Clinical Psychology detailed a study done with 73 HIV-positive men that found cognitive-behavioral stress management (including massage therapy) affected anxiety, T-cytotoxic/suppressor cells, and 24-hour urinary norepinephrine output. The results showed significant reduction in anxiety, anger, total mood disturbance and perceived stress, and lowered norepinephrine output. Even after six to 12 months, the men showed significant increases in T-cytotoxic/suppressor lymphocytes.

"Massage therapy plays a vital role in helping patients cope with the various symptoms of HIV/AIDS and indirectly boosts the immune system at the same time," wrote Jacob D. Gnanakkan, a Miami-based massage therapist, in the September 2005 issue of Massage Today . "As part of the medical team, massage therapists can greatly enhance the lives of people living with HIV/AIDS in the physical and psychological realms, by providing the personal touch other therapies do not generally provide."

Expansion plans

Previously housed at the Derek Silva residential facility, Positive Being lost its space when the agency that runs the program did a seismic remodel of the facility. Although in negotiations to return, Stern said the ultimate goal is for his nonprofit to find its own home.

Over the years a dozen people have volunteered their massage services, working with up to 30 clients. Due to hip replacement surgery this summer, Stern slowed down a bit, working out of his home with six massage therapists and a dozen clients. But he said he is now ready to ramp the nonprofit back up and is looking for new volunteers, new clients, and a new space.

To help raise money toward a permanent location, as well as the ability to give its volunteers an honorarium and expand its programming, Positive Being is holding a cabaret fundraiser on National Coming Out Day, Tuesday, October 11.

Called "Positively Touching" the event is directed by singer and actor Sean Ray, himself HIV-positive and creator of the annual "Valentine's Cabaret to Fight AIDS" at The Plush Room, a benefit for the University of California, San Francisco's AIDS Health Project. Next week's event will feature stars of Beach Blanket Babylon, Sweeney Todd, Tapestry , When Pigs Fly, and West Side Story singing love ballads, pop tunes, and selections from Broadway and way-off-Broadway musicals.

The show begins at 8 p.m. at Theatre Rhinoceros, 2926 16th Street between Mission and South Van Ness in San Francisco. Tickets range from $20 to $35 in advance, or $25 at the door and can be purchased at www.TheRhino.org or by calling (415) 861-5079.

For information on Positive Being programs, as well as becoming a client, volunteer, or benefactor, visit www.PositiveBeing.org or call (415) 821-6477.

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