HIV Plus Magazine #94

THE GAY PRIDE ISSUE + Can they now CURE HIV? + A new 4-in-1 pill

HE ALTH+CULTURE +FITNE SS+TRE ATMENT

Dishing with SINGLE LADIES’ breakout star Lisaraye

10

Amazing HIV-Positive GAY MEN

DATING GAMES

why dating someone who is positive could be your safest bet

+

THE STRANGE CASE OF UNCLE POODLE

from project runway to the Gay Games, activist JACK MACKENROTH is using his status to change how america sees HIV-positive people

MAY/JUNE 2013

www.hivplusmag.com

What is STRIBILD? STRIBILD is a prescription medicine used to treat HIV-1 in adults who have never taken HIV-1 medicines before. It combines 4 medicines into 1 pill to be taken once a day with food. STRIBILD is a complete single-tablet regimen and should not be used with other HIV-1 medicines.

STRIBILD does not cure HIV-1 infection or AIDS. To control HIV-1 infection and decrease HIV-related illnesses you must keep taking STRIBILD. Ask your healthcare provider if you have questions about how to reduce the risk of passing HIV-1 to others. Always practice safer sex and use condoms to lower the chance of sexual contact with body fluids. Never reuse or share needles or other items that have body fluids on them.

IMPORTANT SAFETY INFORMATION What is the most important information I should know about STRIBILD? STRIBILD can cause serious side effects: t Build-up of an acid in your blood (lactic acidosis), which is a serious medical emergency.

Symptoms of lactic acidosis include feeling very weak or tired, unusual (not normal) muscle pain, trouble breathing, stomach pain with nausea or vomiting, feeling cold especially in your arms and legs, feeling dizzy or lightheaded, and/or a fast or irregular heartbeat. t Serious liver problems. The liver may become large (hepatomegaly) and fatty (steatosis). Symptoms of liver problems include your skin or the white part of your eyes turns yellow (jaundice), dark “tea-colored” urine, light-colored bowel movements (stools), loss of appetite for several days or longer, nausea, and/or stomach pain. t You may be more likely to get lactic acidosis or serious liver problems if you are female, very overweight (obese), or have been taking STRIBILD for a long time. In some cases, these serious conditions have led to death. Call your healthcare provider right away if you have any symptoms of these conditions.

t Worsening of hepatitis B (HBV) infection. If you also have HBV and stop taking STRIBILD, your hepatitis may suddenly get worse.

Do not stop taking STRIBILD without first talking to your healthcare provider, as they will need to monitor your health.

STRIBILD is not approved for the treatment of HBV. Who should not take STRIBILD? Do not take STRIBILD if you: t Take a medicine that contains: alfuzosin, dihydroergotamine, ergotamine, methylergonovine, cisapride, lovastatin, simvastatin, pimozide, sildenafil when used for lung problems (Revatio®), triazolam, oral midazolam, rifampin or the herb St. John’s wort. t For a list of brand names for these medicines, please see the Brief Summary on the following pages. t Take any other medicines to treat HIV-1 infection, or the medicine adefovir (Hepsera®).

What are the other possible side effects of STRIBILD? Serious side effects of STRIBILD may also include: t New or worse kidney problems, including kidney failure. Your healthcare provider should do regular blood and urine tests to check your kidneys before and during treatment with STRIBILD. If you develop kidney problems, your healthcare provider may tell you to stop taking STRIBILD. t Bone problems, including bone pain or bones getting soft or thin, which may lead to fractures. Your healthcare provider may do tests to check your bones. t Changes in body fat can happen in people taking HIV-1 medicines. t Changes in your immune system.

Your immune system may get stronger and begin to fight infections. Tell your healthcare provider if you have any new symptoms after you start taking STRIBILD. The most common side effects of STRIBILD include nausea and diarrhea. Tell your healthcare provider if you have any side effects that bother you or don’t go away.

What should I tell my healthcare provider before taking STRIBILD? t All your health problems. Be sure to tell your healthcare provider if you have or had any kidney, bone, or liver problems, including hepatitis virus infection. t All the medicines you take, including prescription and nonprescription medicines, vitamins, and herbal supplements. STRIBILD may affect the way other medicines work, and other medicines may affect how STRIBILD works. Keep a list of all your medicines and show it to your healthcare provider and pharmacist. Do not start any new medicines while taking STRIBILD without first talking with your healthcare provider. t If you take hormone-based birth control (pills, patches, rings, shots, etc). t If you take antacids. Take antacids at least 2 hours before or after you take STRIBILD. t If you are pregnant or plan to become pregnant. It is not known if STRIBILD can harm your unborn baby. Tell your healthcare provider if you become pregnant while taking STRIBILD. t If you are breastfeeding (nursing) or plan to breastfeed.

Do not breastfeed. HIV-1 can be passed to the baby in breast milk. Also, some medicines in STRIBILD can pass into breast milk, and it is not known if this can harm the baby.

You are encouraged to report negative side effects of prescription drugs to the FDA. Visit www.fda.gov/medwatch, or call 1-800-FDA-1088.

Please see Brief Summary of full Prescribing Information with important warnings on the following pages.

STRIBILD is a prescription medicine used as a complete single-tablet regimen to treat HIV-1 in adults who have never taken HIV-1 medicines before. STRIBILD does not cure HIV-1 or AIDS.

I started my personal revolution Talk to your healthcare provider about starting treatment.

STRIBILD is a complete HIV-1 treatment in 1 pill, once a day.

Ask if it’s right for you.

Patient Information STRIBILDTM (STRY-bild) (elvitegravir 150 mg/cobicistat 150 mg/emtricitabine 200 mg/ tenofovir disoproxil fumarate 300 mg) tablets #SJFG TVNNBSZ PG GVMM 1SFTDSJCJOH *OGPSNBUJPO 'PS NPSF JOGPSNBUJPO QMFBTF TFF UIF GVMM 1SFTDSJCJOH *OGPSNBUJPO JODMVEJOH 1BUJFOU *OGPSNBUJPO What is STRIBILD? t STRIBILD is a prescription medicine used to treat HIV-1 in adults who have never taken HIV-1 medicines before. 453*#*-% JT B DPNQMFUF SFHJNFO BOE TIPVME OPU CF VTFE XJUI PUIFS )*7 NFEJDJOFT t STRIBILD does not cure HIV-1 or AIDS. :PV NVTU TUBZ PO DPOUJOVPVT )*7 UIFSBQZ UP DPOUSPM )*7 JOGFDUJPO BOE EFDSFBTF )*7 SFMBUFE JMMOFTTFT t Ask your healthcare provider about how to prevent passing HIV-1 to others. %P OPU TIBSF PS SFVTF OFFEMFT JOKFDUJPO FRVJQNFOU PS QFSTPOBM JUFNT UIBU DBO IBWF CMPPE PS CPEZ þ VJET PO UIFN %P OPU IBWF TFY XJUIPVU QSPUFDUJPO "MXBZT QSBDUJDF TBGFS TFY CZ VTJOH B MBUFY PS QPMZVSFUIBOF DPOEPN UP MPXFS UIF DIBODF PG TFYVBM DPOUBDU XJUI TFNFO WBHJOBM TFDSFUJPOT PS CMPPE

t %P OPU TUPQ UBLJOH 453*#*-% XJUIPVU ý STU UBMLJOH UP ZPVS IFBMUIDBSF QSPWJEFS t *G ZPV TUPQ UBLJOH 453*#*-% ZPVS IFBMUIDBSF QSPWJEFS XJMM OFFE UP DIFDL ZPVS IFBMUI PGUFO BOE EP CMPPE UFTUT SFHVMBSMZ GPS TFWFSBM NPOUIT UP DIFDL ZPVS )#7 JOGFDUJPO 5FMM ZPVS IFBMUIDBSF QSPWJEFS BCPVU BOZ OFX PS VOVTVBM TZNQUPNT ZPV NBZ IBWF BGUFS ZPV TUPQ UBLJOH 453*#*-% Who should not take STRIBILD? Do not take STRIBILD if you also take a medicine that contains: t BEFGPWJS )FQTFSB®

t BMGV[PTJO IZESPDIMPSJEF 6SPYBUSBM®

t DJTBQSJEF 1SPQVMTJE® 1SPQVMTJE 2VJDLTPMW®

t FSHPU DPOUBJOJOH NFEJDJOFT JODMVEJOH EJIZESPFSHPUBNJOF NFTZMBUF % ) & ® .JHSBOBM® FSHPUBNJOF UBSUSBUF $BGFSHPU® .JHFSHPU® &SHPTUBU® .FEJIBMFS &SHPUBNJOF® 8JHSBJOF® 8JHSFUUFT® BOE NFUIZMFSHPOPWJOF NBMFBUF &SHPUSBUF® .FUIFSHJOF®

t MPWBTUBUJO "EWJDPS® "MUPQSFW® .FWBDPS®

t PSBM NJEB[PMBN

What is the most important information I should know about STRIBILD?

t QJNP[JEF 0SBQ®

STRIBILD can cause serious side effects, including: 1. Build-up of lactic acid in your blood (lactic acidosis). -BDUJD BDJEPTJT DBO IBQQFO JO TPNF QFPQMF XIP UBLF 453*#*-% PS TJNJMBS OVDMFPTJEF BOBMPHT NFEJDJOFT -BDUJD BDJEPTJT JT B TFSJPVT NFEJDBM FNFSHFODZ UIBU DBO MFBE UP EFBUI -BDUJD BDJEPTJT DBO CF IBSE UP JEFOUJGZ FBSMZ CFDBVTF UIF TZNQUPNT DPVME TFFN MJLF TZNQUPNT PG PUIFS IFBMUI QSPCMFNT Call your healthcare provider right away if you get any of the following symptoms which could be signs of lactic acidosis: t GFFM WFSZ XFBL PS UJSFE t IBWF VOVTVBM OPU OPSNBM NVTDMF QBJO t IBWF USPVCMF CSFBUIJOH t IBWF TUPNBDI QBJO XJUI OBVTFB PS WPNJUJOH t GFFM DPME FTQFDJBMMZ JO ZPVS BSNT BOE MFHT t GFFM EJ[[Z PS MJHIUIFBEFE t IBWF B GBTU PS JSSFHVMBS IFBSUCFBU 2. Severe liver problems. 4FWFSF MJWFS QSPCMFNT DBO IBQQFO JO QFPQMF XIP UBLF 453*#*-% *O TPNF DBTFT UIFTF MJWFS QSPCMFNT DBO MFBE UP EFBUI :PVS MJWFS NBZ CFDPNF MBSHF IFQBUPNFHBMZ BOE ZPV NBZ EFWFMPQ GBU JO ZPVS MJWFS TUFBUPTJT Call your healthcare provider right away if you get any of the following symptoms of liver problems: t ZPVS TLJO PS UIF XIJUF QBSU PG ZPVS FZFT UVSOT ZFMMPX KBVOEJDF

t EBSL iUFB DPMPSFEw VSJOF t MJHIU DPMPSFE CPXFM NPWFNFOUT TUPPMT

t MPTT PG BQQFUJUF GPS TFWFSBM EBZT PS MPOHFS t OBVTFB t TUPNBDI QBJO You may be more likely to get lactic acidosis or severe liver problems if you are female, very overweight (obese), or have been taking STRIBILD for a long time.

3. Worsening of Hepatitis B infection. *G ZPV IBWF IFQBUJUJT # WJSVT )#7 JOGFDUJPO BOE UBLF 453*#*-% ZPVS )#7 NBZ HFU XPSTF þ BSF VQ JG ZPV TUPQ UBLJOH 453*#*-% " iþ BSF VQw JT XIFO ZPVS )#7 JOGFDUJPO TVEEFOMZ SFUVSOT JO B XPSTF XBZ UIBO CFGPSF t %P OPU SVO PVU PG 453*#*-% 3Fý MM ZPVS QSFTDSJQUJPO PS UBML UP ZPVS IFBMUIDBSF QSPWJEFS CFGPSF ZPVS 453*#*-% JT BMM HPOF

t TJMEFOBý M 3FWBUJP® XIFO VTFE GPS USFBUJOH MVOH QSPCMFNT

t SJGBNQJO 3JGBEJO® 3JGBNBUF® 3JGBUFS® 3JNBDUBOF®

t TJNWBTUBUJO 4JNDPS® 7ZUPSJO® ;PDPS®

t USJB[PMBN )BMDJPO®

t UIF IFSC 4U +PIO T XPSU Do not take STRIBILD if you also take any other HIV-1 medicines, including: t 0UIFS NFEJDJOFT UIBU DPOUBJO UFOPGPWJS "USJQMB® $PNQMFSB® 7JSFBE® 5SVWBEB®

t 0UIFS NFEJDJOFT UIBU DPOUBJO FNUSJDJUBCJOF MBNJWVEJOF PS SJUPOBWJS $PNCJWJS® &NUSJWB® &QJWJS® PS &QJWJS )#7® &Q[JDPN® ,BMFUSB® /PSWJS® 5SJ[JWJS®

STRIBILD is not for use in people who are less than 18 years old.

What are the possible side effects of STRIBILD? STRIBILD may cause the following serious side effects: t 4FF i8IBU JT UIF NPTU JNQPSUBOU JOGPSNBUJPO * TIPVME LOPX about STRIBILD?” t /FX PS XPSTF LJEOFZ QSPCMFNT JODMVEJOH LJEOFZ GBJMVSF :PVS IFBMUIDBSF QSPWJEFS TIPVME EP CMPPE BOE VSJOF UFTUT UP DIFDL ZPVS LJEOFZT CFGPSF ZPV TUBSU BOE XIJMF ZPV BSF UBLJOH 453*#*-% :PVS IFBMUIDBSF QSPWJEFS NBZ UFMM ZPV UP TUPQ UBLJOH 453*#*-% JG ZPV EFWFMPQ OFX PS XPSTF LJEOFZ QSPCMFNT t #POF QSPCMFNT DBO IBQQFO JO TPNF QFPQMF XIP UBLF 453*#*-% #POF QSPCMFNT JODMVEF CPOF QBJO TPGUFOJOH PS UIJOOJOH XIJDI NBZ MFBE UP GSBDUVSFT :PVS IFBMUIDBSF QSPWJEFS NBZ OFFE UP EP UFTUT UP DIFDL ZPVS CPOFT t Changes in body fat DBO IBQQFO JO QFPQMF XIP UBLF )*7 NFEJDJOF 5IFTF DIBOHFT NBZ JODMVEF JODSFBTFE BNPVOU PG GBU JO UIF VQQFS CBDL BOE OFDL iCVGGBMP IVNQw CSFBTU BOE BSPVOE UIF NJEEMF PG ZPVS CPEZ USVOL -PTT PG GBU GSPN UIF MFHT BSNT BOE GBDF NBZ BMTP IBQQFO 5IF FYBDU DBVTF BOE MPOH UFSN IFBMUI FGGFDUT PG UIFTF DPOEJUJPOT BSF OPU LOPXO t Changes in your immune system *NNVOF 3FDPOTUJUVUJPO 4ZOESPNF DBO IBQQFO XIFO ZPV TUBSU UBLJOH )*7 NFEJDJOFT :PVS JNNVOF TZTUFN NBZ HFU TUSPOHFS BOE CFHJO UP ý HIU JOGFDUJPOT UIBU IBWF CFFO IJEEFO JO ZPVS CPEZ GPS B MPOH UJNF 5FMM ZPVS IFBMUIDBSF QSPWJEFS SJHIU BXBZ JG ZPV TUBSU IBWJOH BOZ OFX TZNQUPNT BGUFS TUBSUJOH ZPVS )*7 NFEJDJOF

The most common side effects of STRIBILD include: t /BVTFB t %JBSSIFB Tell your healthcare provider if you have any side effect that bothers you or that does not go away. t 5IFTF BSF OPU BMM UIF QPTTJCMF TJEF FGGFDUT PG 453*#*-% 'PS NPSF JOGPSNBUJPO BTL ZPVS IFBMUIDBSF QSPWJEFS t $BMM ZPVS IFBMUIDBSF QSPWJEFS GPS NFEJDBM BEWJDF BCPVU TJEF FGGFDUT :PV NBZ SFQPSU TJEF FGGFDUT UP '%" BU '%"

EJHPYJO -BOPYJO®

EJTPQZSBNJEF /PSQBDF®

FTUB[PMBN FUIPTVYJNJEF ;BSPOUJO®

þ FDBJOJEF 5BNCPDPS®

þ VSB[FQBN þ VUJDBTPOF 'MPWFOU® 'MPOBTF® 'MPWFOU® %JTLVT 'MPWFOU® )'" 7FSBNZTU®

JUSBDPOB[PMF 4QPSBOPY®

What should I tell my healthcare provider before taking STRIBILD? LFUPDPOB[PMF /J[PSBM®

MJEPDBJOF 9ZMPDBJOF®

Tell your healthcare provider about all your medical conditions, including: NFYJMFUJOF t *G ZPV IBWF PS IBE BOZ LJEOFZ CPOF PS MJWFS QSPCMFNT JODMVEJOH PYDBSCB[FQJOF 5SJMFQUBM®

IFQBUJUJT # JOGFDUJPO QFSQIFOB[JOF t *G ZPV BSF QSFHOBOU PS QMBO UP CFDPNF QSFHOBOU *U JT OPU LOPXO JG ® 453*#*-% DBO IBSN ZPVS VOCPSO CBCZ 5FMM ZPVS IFBMUIDBSF QSPWJEFS QIFOPCBSCJUBM -VNJOBM

JG ZPV CFDPNF QSFHOBOU XIJMF UBLJOH 453*#*-% QIFOZUPJO %JMBOUJO® 1IFOZUFL®

o 5IFSF JT B QSFHOBODZ SFHJTUSZ GPS XPNFO XIP UBLF BOUJWJSBM QSPQBGFOPOF 3ZUINPM®

NFEJDJOFT EVSJOH QSFHOBODZ 5IF QVSQPTF PG UIJT SFHJTUSZ JT UP RVJOJEJOF /FVEFYUB®

DPMMFDU JOGPSNBUJPO BCPVU UIF IFBMUI PG ZPV BOE ZPVS CBCZ 5BML SJGBCVUJO .ZDPCVUJO®

XJUI ZPVS IFBMUIDBSF QSPWJEFS BCPVU IPX ZPV DBO UBLF QBSU JO UIJT SFHJTUSZ SJGBQFOUJOF 1SJGUJO®

t *G ZPV BSF CSFBTUGFFEJOH OVSTJOH PS QMBO UP CSFBTUGFFE %P OPU SJTQFSJEPOF 3JTQFSEBM® 3JTQFSEBM $POTUB®

CSFBTUGFFE JG ZPV UBLF 453*#*-% TBMNFUFSPM 4FSFWFOU® PS TBMNFUFSPM XIFO UBLFO JO DPNCJOBUJPO :PV TIPVME OPU CSFBTUGFFE JG ZPV IBWF )*7 CFDBVTF PG UIF SJTL PG XJUI þ VUJDBTPOF "EWBJS %JTLVT® "EWBJS )'"®

QBTTJOH )*7 UP ZPVS CBCZ TJMEFOBý M 7JBHSB® UBEBMBý M $JBMJT® PS WBSEFOBý M -FWJUSB® 5XP PG UIF NFEJDJOFT JO 453*#*-% DBO QBTT UP ZPVS CBCZ JO ZPVS 4UBYZO® GPS UIF USFBUNFOU PG FSFDUJMF EZTGVODUJPO &% *G ZPV HFU CSFBTU NJML *U JT OPU LOPXO JG UIF PUIFS NFEJDJOFT JO 453*#*-% DBO EJ[[Z PS GBJOU MPX CMPPE QSFTTVSF IBWF WJTJPO DIBOHFT PS IBWF QBTT JOUP ZPVS CSFBTU NJML BO FSFDUJPO UIBU MBTU MPOHFS UIBO IPVST DBMM ZPVS IFBMUIDBSF 5BML XJUI ZPVS IFBMUIDBSF QSPWJEFS BCPVU UIF CFTU XBZ UP GFFE QSPWJEFS PS HFU NFEJDBM IFMQ SJHIU BXBZ ZPVS CBCZ UBEBMBý M "EDJSDB® GPS UIF USFBUNFOU PG QVMNPOBSZ BSUFSJBM Tell your healthcare provider about all the medicines you take, IZQFSUFOTJPO including prescription and nonprescription medicines, vitamins, UFMJUISPNZDJO ,FUFL®

and herbal supplements: UIJPSJEB[JOF t 453*#*-% NBZ BGGFDU UIF XBZ PUIFS NFEJDJOFT XPSL BOE PUIFS WPSJDPOB[PMF 7GFOE®

NFEJDJOFT NBZ BGGFDU IPX 453*#*-% XPSLT XBSGBSJO $PVNBEJO® +BOUPWFO®

t #F TVSF UP UFMM ZPVS IFBMUIDBSF QSPWJEFS JG ZPV UBLF BOZ PG UIF GPMMPXJOH NFEJDJOFT [PMQJEFN "NCJFO® &EMVMBS® *OUFSNF[[P® ;PMQJNJTU®

)PSNPOF CBTFE CJSUI DPOUSPM QJMMT QBUDIFT SJOHT TIPUT FUD

Know the medicines you take. ,FFQ B MJTU PG BMM ZPVS NFEJDJOFT BOE TIPX JU UP ZPVS IFBMUIDBSF QSPWJEFS BOE QIBSNBDJTU XIFO ZPV HFU B "OUBDJE NFEJDJOFT UIBU DPOUBJOT BMVNJOVN NBHOFTJVN OFX NFEJDJOF %P OPU TUBSU BOZ OFX NFEJDJOFT XIJMF ZPV BSF UBLJOH IZESPYJEF PS DBMDJVN DBSCPOBUF 5BLF BOUBDJET BU MFBTU IPVST 453*#*-% XJUIPVU ý STU UBMLJOH XJUI ZPVS IFBMUIDBSF QSPWJEFS CFGPSF PS BGUFS ZPV UBLF 453*#*-% .FEJDJOFT UP USFBU EFQSFTTJPO PSHBO USBOTQMBOU SFKFDUJPO PS IJHI Keep STRIBILD and all medicines out of reach of children.

CMPPE QSFTTVSF 5IJT #SJFG 4VNNBSZ TVNNBSJ[FT UIF NPTU JNQPSUBOU JOGPSNBUJPO BNJPEBSPOF $PSEBSPOF® 1BDFSPOF®

BCPVU 453*#*-% *G ZPV XPVME MJLF NPSF JOGPSNBUJPO UBML XJUI ZPVS IFBMUIDBSF QSPWJEFS :PV DBO BMTP BTL ZPVS IFBMUIDBSF QSPWJEFS PS BUPSWBTUBUJO -JQJUPS® $BEVFU®

QIBSNBDJTU GPS JOGPSNBUJPO BCPVU 453*#*-% UIBU JT XSJUUFO GPS IFBMUI CFQSJEJM IZESPDIMPSJD 7BTDPS® #FQBEJO®

QSPGFTTJPOBMT PS DBMM PS HP UP XXX 453*#*-% DPN CPTFOUBO 5SBDMFFS®

*TTVFE "VHVTU CVTQJSPOF DBSCBNB[FQJOF $BSCBUSPM® &QJUPM® &RVFUSP® 5FHSFUP®

DMBSJUISPNZDJO #JBYJO® 1SFWQBD®

DMPOB[FQBN ,MPOPQJO®

DMPSB[FQBUF (FO YFOF® 5SBOYFOF®

$0.1-&3" &.53*7" (*-&"% UIF (*-&"% -PHP (4* )&14&3" 453*#*-% UIF 453*#*-% -PHP 5367"%" BOE 7*3&"% BSF USBEFNBSLT PG (JMFBE 4DJFODFT *OD PS JUT SFMBUFE DPNQBOJFT "53*1-" DPMDIJDJOF $PMDSZT®

JT B USBEFNBSL PG #SJTUPM .ZFST 4RVJCC (JMFBE 4DJFODFT --$ "MM PUIFS NBSLT SFGFSFODFE IFSFJO BSF UIF QSPQFSUZ PG UIFJS SFTQFDUJWF PXOFST NFEJDJOFT UIBU DPOUBJO EFYBNFUIBTPOF EJB[FQBN 7BMJVN®

ª (JMFBE 4DJFODFT *OD "MM SJHIUT SFTFSWFE 2$

IN THIS ISSUE

MAY/JUNE 2013

20

healthy doses

6 moving beyond grief Ricky Ian Gordon tells us about Green Sneakers, his opera about his partner’s AIDSrelated death.

8 the trouble with labels Haiti has been linked with HIV for 30 years.

Will the stigma ever go away?

9 back to school Teachers in Nepal offer new hope to HIVpositive orphans.

CASE STUDIES

14 skin deep Why are people with HIV more prone to skin cancer?

15 to give is divine Proposed legislation could finally allow organ donation between HIV-positive people.

15 buzzing with potential A toxin in bee venom can destroy HIV. TREATMENT CHRONICLES

16 Can they cure hiv?

Rapid treatment may eradicate virus.

17 techie MEDICAL BRACELETS 17 TESTING A new 4-in-1 PILL COLUMNS

36 fighting regret by Gary McClain, Ph.D. 37 death sentence by David Bedrick, JD YOU 2.0

38 2 simple poolside exercises The sexy muscles you need to build.

39 FOOD FOR THOUGHT A pancake recipe that will have you looking and feeling great.

13 DAILY DOSE: a betting man The old notions about risks in dating don’t take treatment, testing, and honesty into account.

10 News you can use

THE GAY PRIDE ISSUE

18 20

All the latest news, studies, and more.

40 ask & Tell Single Ladies’ LisaRaye McCoy.

34

10 Exceptional Gay Men With HIV

Meet the positive athletes, activists, politicians, and artists making us proud.

Jack of All Trades

Activist Jack Mackenroth is using his fame (and hot bod) to increase HIV visibility.

The Strange Case of Uncle Poodle

The intersection of HIV and Here Comes Honey Boo Boo.

On the cover: Designer & Activist Jack Mackenroth photographed by photosbyredapple.com

photosbyredapple.com

more

Editor's Letter

M

Editor in chief

A

G

Diane Anderson-Minshall

A

Z

I

N

evp, group publisher

E Joe Valentino

managing Editor Neal Broverman

INTEGR ATED advertising MANAGEr Steven O’Brien Scott McPherson digital Editor Michelle Garcia interactive art director Robert Hébert ASSOCIATE Editor Sunnivie Brydum senior managers, integr ated marketing copy editor Trudy Ring Robbie Imes, Kevin Stec ASSOCIATE ART DIRECTOR Boo Jarchow senior manager, social media Shamila Siddiqui editorial interns Clea Kim, Nick Pachelli, Christopher Rudolph senior director, client services Stewart Nacht creative director

Peter Di Maso Dave Johnson director, digital media Scott Ragan senior online producer Christopher Harrity manager, application development Alex Lim web production coordinator Joe Okonkwo

lead web architect & developer

creative director, digital media

circulation Director Jeff Lettiere fulfillment manager Argus Galindo Production Manager John Lewis Advertising Production Manager Heidi Medina

HERE MEDIA

Stephen P. Jarchow ceo Paul Colichman cfo Tony Shyngle eVP, GM, Bernard Rook evp, publishing Joe Landry vp, editorial director Matthew Breen chairman

EXECUTIVE vice presidents

Joe Landry,

Bernard Rook Christin Dennis, John Mongiardo, Stephen Murray, Alex Paul, Josh Rosenzweig, Joe Valentino vice presidents Matthew Breen, Greg Brossia, Eric Bui, Steven Capone, Justin Garrett senior vice presidents

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Do you have an interesting story about yourself or someone you know that you want to share? You might be a candidate for a profile in one of our departments or another section. We want to hear from you, and we want to know what you’ve been up to. So email us at mail@HIVPlusMag.com or write us at HIV Plus, 10990 Wilshire Blvd., Penthouse Suite, Los Angeles, CA 90024.

HIV Plus (ISSN 1522-3086) is published bimonthly by Here Publishing Inc., 10990 Wilshire Blvd., Penthouse Suite, Los Angeles, CA 90024. HIV Plus is a registered trademark of Here Media Inc. Entire contents © 2013 by Here Publishing Inc. All rights reserved. Printed in the USA.

friends in low places

W

e ' ve spent so

much time in the last three decades trying to get bigots to realize that AIDS is not a gay disease. In fact, some of fastest-growing groups of HIVers today (black women and seniors, for example) aren't gay.

It's true: HIV isn't a gay issue; it's everyone's issue. But with that, I realized, we sort of sidelined the fact that 56% of all cases of HIV are gay and bisexual men. Some of those men have dealt with HIV so long that they've seen their friends die of AIDS (in the '80s and '90s) and seen their younger counterparts eschew condoms and debate the dangers of unprotected sex in the 2000s.

It's a brave new world, and in those 30 years, gay men have become a stabilizing force in the community and media, always pushing for more and easier testing, better treatment, and increased visibility and reduction of stigma. That's why this issue—I call it the Gay Pride Issue—is celebrating some amazing HIV-positive gay men like our cover star, Jack Mackenroth.

These men have pushed for everyone's acceptance and taught us all how to live with HIV.

Diane Anderson-Minshall Editor in Chief

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Moving Beyond Grief After composer Ricky Ian Gordon lost his partner to AIDS, he did what came naturally—he wrote an opera about the devastating experience ➤

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ick y ian gordon’s opera Green Sneakers is much more than a theatrical song cycle for a baritone and string quartet. It is a raw, personal, and intimate work of art written by the award-winning composer after the AIDSrelated death of his partner, Jeffrey Grossi.

Called “a masterpiece” by Opera Today, the mini-opera tells the story of the couple’s final few months together, from the day Grossi buys a pair of sneakers until the moment of his death. It is a production that peers into the soul, transforming and uplifting the audience at each performance. Between Green Sneakers’ West Coast premiere (at San Francisco’s Fort Mason Center) and its next staging (at New York’s Lincoln Center), Gordon took a moment to talk about his most personal composition, how he felt the first time it was performed, and why he felt compelled to create it.

opposite page: courtesy subject; this page: Collection of Peter Harvey

What inspired you to create a miniopera based on such a painful period of your life? For a very long time, it felt like I couldn’t move past the pain, but soon I realized my way of working out my grief was through my work. It’s catharsis. You create in order to move past. Also, I had the feeling if I wrote Green Sneakers and got it right, it could conceivably be a source of comfort for a lot of other people who had gone through what I’d gone though.

Because the story is so personal, was there ever a moment when you felt like this might be too difficult for you to produce? There were times I’d wake up in the middle of the night, soaked in terror, because I felt such immense pressure to get it right. The time I spent preparing this piece was so deep because I really loved him, and it seemed essential to remember him in my work. I don’t think I really had any idea what grief was until the moment when Jeffrey was staring at me, he was in my arms, and a moment later he was gone and I was holding a husk and I could tell he was no longer there.

How did you feel the first time you witnessed Green Sneakers performed in front of a live audience? I knew it was enough that I’d put that piece onstage and the audience didn’t need me to be a wreck on top of that. It was really important to me that I hold myself together and remain cool, calm, and collected. However, when the performance ended I went backstage and let my feelings out there. I was moved and so proud because I thought, My God, this piece is beautiful. Then I had a talkback with the audience

in the lobby, and that night was unlike anything I’d experienced. The whole audience was crying, and everyone wanted to share about who they’d lost. It was such an intimate conversation for that context, and that made it so fulfilling. It was so rewarding, and I’ll never forget it.

“That night was unlike anything I’d experienced.

The whole audience was crying, and everyone wanted to share about who they’d lost.”

Do you feel differently now when you see the opera performed? I still have to work to control myself when I see it now, but it’s not that it’s painful, it’s just so moving to me. There are so many moments in Green Sneakers that are still so real, when I see them I feel like I want to burst into tears, but a part of me feels like that would be inappropriate because it’s in the piece. It’s there, and I don’t want the audience to take care of me, I want them to experience it and feel whatever they bring to it.

HIV infection rates have increased in young gay men in recent years. As someone who witnessed a loved one passing from the disease, what would you say to the youth of today who might not worry about HIV? Don’t throw away your life. The world is so different now than it was when Jeffrey died in 1996. Young people today missed seeing what it was really like at the height of the AIDS crisis, so for them, they think it’s OK because you just get to take a few pills all the time. Today, HIV is romanticized in a way because you get to be like that character in Rent, but young people need to know that there’s nothing romantic about it. —Jase Peeples

Art from the heart New York visitors shouldn’t miss these two new exhibitions that tackle AIDS in different ways Finding Thek Paul Thek, an iconic gay American artist who died of AIDS complications in 1988, is the subject of an exhibition at the Leslie-Lohman Museum of Gay and Lesbian Art that looks at his life through his early art, illustrating what it was like to be gay in the 1950s. The works come from a personal collection and have never been exhibited before, says museum rep Steve Deitsch, and the exhibit also includes works by other artists in his inner circle, showing how they influenced each other.

While Thek became both famous and infamous in the mid-to-late 1960s for his “Meat Pieces” (handmade slabs of realistic-looking flesh encased in plastic), the work created by Thek earlier in his career shows a very different artist, described by the museum as “a precociously sensitive draftsman who captured his lover asleep naked, making work that was both openly gay and often manifestly erotic.” Admission is free; April 12–July 7. LeslieLohman.org Fighting Back A new exhibit at the New York Historical Society uses artifacts to tell the story of the early years of AIDS, when activists rallied to push government to take action. The show, “AIDS in New York: The First Five Years,” runs from June 7 to September 15 at the society’s museum in New York City. Admission is normally $15, but on Fridays from 6 to 8 p.m. it’s pay-as-you-wish. NYHistory. org —Sunnivie Brydum

Theodore Newman’s 1957 photo Peter and Two Pauls in Rhode Island (Peter Harvey, Paul Fisher, and Paul Thek), part of the Thek exhibit

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The Trouble With Labels

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Haiti has been linked with HIV for 30 years. Will the stigma ever go away?

he protagonist of the 1998 film How Stella Got Her Groove Back was urged to use a condom while vacationing in Jamaica because “those people have a history with AIDS.” Another character corrects her: “No, that’s Haiti.”

That stigma has been with Haiti for 30 years now. On March 4, 1983, the U.S. Centers for Disease Control listed Haitians as one of the four “high-risk” groups for AIDS. With a relatively high number of cases among recent Haitian immigrants, the CDC warned, “Physicians who care for Haitian patients should be aware that opportunistic infections may occur in this population.” The federal designa-

heart strong Partnering up is good for health, and apparently that crosses sexual orientation lines. A recent Danish study found the death rate for gay men in domestic partnerships and marriages has decreased since 1996 and is now lower than that of divorced or unmarried heterosexual men.

The study, published in the International Journal of Epidemiology, covered the death rates of 6.5 million Danish adults from 1982 to 2011.

“Among men in Denmark, it is more dangerous to be unmarried or divorced than to be married to another man,” said Morten Frisch, the lead author of the study.

Aside from the psychological support spouses provide, which typically translates to better physical health, the scientists believe advances in HIV treatment have also increased the life expectancy of some partnered gay men.

—Christopher Rudolph 8

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tion singled out Haitians as the only ethnic group believed to be inherently susceptible to the thenmysterious disease. As such, they became members of the notorious “4-H” club that also included homosexuals, heroin users, and hemophiliacs.

This sparked a new wave of discrimination. Many people of Haitian descent were fired or denied employment, housing, and admission to school. Immigrants played a critical role in the grassroots movements that combated HIV and AIDS. Activists cried racism and pseudo-science as the impetus for the designation.

Meanwhile, many others shifted the conversation to other plagues that affected Haitian communities: poverty, malnutrition, unemployment, and discrimination.

All this manifested in a major

rally April 20, 1990. An estimated 80,000 people marched across the Brooklyn Bridge to protest the Food and Drug Administration recommendation that anyone from Haiti and sub-Saharan Africa, regardless of how long they had lived in America, be barred from donating blood.

Removing the stains of this decision has not come easy. The CDC officially maintained that Haitians constituted a “high-risk” group for HIV and AIDS until May 1985. By then, Haiti’s tourism industry had been severely crippled. In the early 1990s the U.S. began to quarantine Haitian

migrants—many of whom were infected with HIV—at the Guantánamo Bay naval base in Cuba.

The practice didn’t end until 1993.

One of the solutions to preventing new infections today can be found in this tragic stigma hastily articulated 30 years ago. The data and figures that seemed to suggest Haitians were distinctly prone to the disease had overlooked longer histories of imperialism, poverty, and exploitation. Those factors, which continue to contribute to HIV rates around the world, should be associated with HIV, not an entire nation’s people.

—Julio Capó Jr.

Protection in a Flash

From Lithuania to Mexico, people around the world participated in condom flash mobs for International Condom Day on February 13. Volunteers and activists distributed condoms, performed intricate dance routines, and worked to raise awareness about proper condom use.

Three Books You’ll Love

Finally, HIV-positive characters are showing up in fiction and memoirs Visiting Hours

by Jennifer Anne Moses (FomitePress.com, $15): This compelling collection of stories shows a Louisiana AIDS hospice where African-American caregivers interact with mostly marginalized people with HIV and AIDS, for whom they develop unwavering, unconditional love.

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My Life After Now

by Jessica Verdi (Sourcebooks.com, $9.99): Lucy is a teen who tries to escape her troubles with a reckless night of fun—that ends with her contracting HIV. The reactions of her peers, family, and her HIV support group, and her own emotions offer a realistic look at what it means to be a teen with HIV today.

Hepatitis C is a major concern for people with HIV, with about one quarter of those with HIV also suffering from hep C. If you discover you have both viruses, tell your doctor immediately so he or she can adjust your HIV regimen.

How To Greet Strangers

by Joyce Thompson (LethePressBooks.com, $15): Archer Barron is black, spiritual, and attractive.

What’s more, he’s HIVpositive. In this detective yarn, Archer becomes a murder suspect and must find out who really committed the crime.

—Diane Anderson-Minshall

+ African-Americans are more than twice as likely to have been infected with hepatitis C than Caucasians + African-Americans make up 22% of Americans with hepatitis C but account for only about 10% of participants in hepatitis C clinical trials

Back to School Teachers in Nepal offer new hope for HIV-positive kids

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first- of-its-k ind school in Nepal established to provide education to HIV-positive children who are excluded from public schools will continue on its much-needed mission after a lack of funding threatened to leave the children homeless.

Teacher Raj Kumar Pun founded Nepal’s Saphalta HIV Siksha Sadan (which translates to “Successful HIV Home and School”) in 2010 after reading a newspaper article about a 10-year-old girl whose parents had died of AIDS, leaving her orphaned.

“All of the schools refused to enroll our children,” Pun said on the news program Asia Calling earlier this year. “They claimed that they would lose their business if they would take admission [of] the HIVpositive children in their school. Even government schools refused them.”

Pun joined forces with his friend Uma Gurung, a mother

and shop owner, and asked the Nepalese government for permission to launch the nation’s first school specifically for HIVpositive youth.

“Nobody wanted to take care of these children with HIV,” Gurung told the Associated Press. “It is not their fault that they are sick.”

The school is now recognized by the area’s education district as an alternative educational institution, but last year Pun and Gurung found themselves struggling to keep it afloat. With no government funding, they were caring for 10 students (all between the ages of 3 and 10) who lived full-time at the school.

When another woman, Sakuntala Acharya, read of the school’s uncertain future, she wrote a check for 100,000 rupees (about $1,150)—enough to keep the school running.

Although Acharya’s donation secured the school’s site, administrators continue to face

an uphill battle in providing for the students. Some antiretroviral medication is available free through hospitals, but checkups and routine tests continue to stretch the founders’ modest salaries, the primary source of the school’s funding, reports

the Kathmandu Post.

And the need remains great.

Nepal’s National Centre for AIDS and Sexually Transmitted Disease Control estimates that there are at least 5,000 HIVpositive children living in the nation. —Sunnivie Brydum m ay/j u n e 2 0 1 3 •

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Ne w s You Ca n Use

The latest health breakthroughs include findings on sodas, cinnamon, and calcium. ­— Clea Kim ✚ Following Doctor’s Orders A National Institutes of Health study found that participants given daily oral pre-exposure prophylaxis (PrEP)—anti-HIV drugs used as a preventive measure—did not experience any more protection against HIV that those taking a placebo. The reason may be that participants did not take the study drugs as directed, a reminder of why it’s important to follow instructions on medication.

✚ The Cinnamon Cure A Ball State University researcher found that putting cinnamon on breakfast foods significantly lowers blood sugar levels and potentially reduces the chance of diabetes. Both healthy-weight and obese adults who ate a cooked breakfast cereal with six grams of cinnamon saw their blood sugar levels decline by 25% for the next two hours, compared to those not consuming cinnamon.

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✚ Drink at Your Own Peril Sugary drinks contribute to 180,000 obesityrelated deaths around the world every year, says a report presented at a recent American Heart Association conference. Sodas, fruit drinks, energy drinks, and sports beverages contribute to diabetes, cardiovascular disease, and some cancers, according to the Harvardled research. The U.S. has the third-highest rate of death from sugar-sweetened drinks.

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✚ Should You Cool It With the Calcium?

A study recently released by the National Institutes of Health indicates that men taking calcium supplements had a greater risk of death from heart disease than those who didn’t take extra calcium. The study followed nearly 400,000 middle-aged Americans for 12 years. About 3% of the participants, or close to 12,000 people, died of cardiovascular disease, and men taking supplements were 20% more likely to die of heart disease than those who did not take them. However, the researchers said there may not be a cause-and-effect link between supplements and heart disease, as the supplements had no association with increased risk among women in the study. In addition, Howard Sesso, a preventive medicine researcher at Brigham and Women’s Hospital and Harvard Medical School in Boston, told the Reuters news service, “It could be that when you take supplements, maybe you’re taking doses that far exceed what you need. But it’s still unclear how that might raise cardiovascular risks.”

✚ Be Careful With Your Meds U.S. deaths from drug overdoses increased for the 11th consecutive year in 2010, the most recent year for which numbers are available, according to the CDC. Over 38,300 people died of a drug overdose in 2010, up from 37,004 in 2009.

Nearly 60% of the drug overdose deaths involved pharmaceutical rather than recreational drugs.

Opioids, which are often prescribed to HIVers for pain, were involved in about three of every four pharmaceutical overdose deaths.

YOU’VE COME A LONG WAY MANAGING YOUR HIV.

NOW, ON TO HIV-RELATED EXCESS ABDOMINAL FAT.

www.egrifta.com

Indication: EGRIFTA® (tesamorelin for injection) is a daily injectable prescription medicine to reduce the excess abdominal fat in HIV-infected patients with lipodystrophy.

Limitations of use: r 5IF JNQBDU BOE TBGFUZ PG EGRIFTA® on cardiovascular health has not been studied r EGRIFTA® is not indicated for weight-loss management r * U T OPU LOPXO XIFUIFS UBLJOH EGRIFTA® helps improve compliance with antiretroviral medications r EGRIFTA® is not recommended to be used in children Important Risk Information Do not use EGRIFTA® if you: r )BWF QJUVJUBSZ HMBOE UVNPS QJUVJUBSZ HMBOE TVSHFSZ PS PUIFS QSPCMFNT SFMBUFE to your pituitary gland r )BWF BDUJWF DBODFS FJUIFS OFXMZ EJBHOPTFE PS SFDVSSFOU PS BSF SFDFJWJOH treatment for cancer r "SF BMMFSHJD UP UFTBNPSFMJO PS BOZ PG UIF JOHSFEJFOUT JO EGRIFTA® JODMVEJOH mannitol or sterile water r "SF QSFHOBOU PS CFDPNF QSFHOBOU Before using EGRIFTA®, tell your healthcare provider if you: r )BWF PS IBWF IBE DBODFS

r )BWF EJBCFUFT r "SF CSFBTUGFFEJOH PS QMBO UP CSFBTUGFFE r )BWF LJEOFZ PS MJWFS QSPCMFNT

r )BWF BOZ PUIFS NFEJDBM DPOEJUJPO r 5BLF QSFTDSJQUJPO PS OPO QSFTDSJQUJPO NFEJDJOFT WJUBNJOT PS IFSCBM TVQQMFNFOUT EGRIFTA® may cause serious side effects, including: r 4FSJPVT BMMFSHJD SFBDUJPO 4UPQ VTJOH EGRIFTA® and get emergency help right away JG ZPV IBWF BOZ PG UIF GPMMPXJOH TZNQUPNT SBTI PWFS ZPVS CPEZ IJWFT TXFMMJOH PG ZPVS GBDF PS UISPBU TIPSUOFTT PG CSFBUI PS USPVCMF CSFBUIJOH GBTU IFBSUCFBU GFFMJOH of faintness or fainting r 4XFMMJOH áVJE SFUFOUJPO EGRIFTA® can cause swelling in some parts of your body. $BMM ZPVS IFBMUIDBSF QSPWJEFS JG ZPV IBWF BO JODSFBTF JO KPJOU QBJO PS QBJO PS numbness in your hands or wrist (carpal tunnel syndrome) r *ODSFBTF JO HMVDPTF CMPPE TVHBS JOUPMFSBODF BOE EJBCFUFT :PVS IFBMUIDBSF provider will measure your blood sugar periodically r * OKFDUJPO TJUF SFBDUJPOT TVDI BT SFEOFTT JUDIJOH QBJO JSSJUBUJPO CMFFEJOH SBTI BOE TXFMMJOH $IBOHF SPUBUF ZPVS JOKFDUJPO TJUF UP IFMQ MPXFS ZPVS SJTL GPS injection-site reactions The most common side effects of EGRIFTA® include: r KPJOU QBJO r OVNCOFTT BOE QSJDLJOH r QBJO JO MFHT BOE BSNT r OBVTFB r TXFMMJOH JO ZPVS MFHT r WPNJUJOH r NVTDMF TPSFOFTT r SBTI r UJOHMJOH r JUDIJOH EGRIFTA® XJMM /05 DVSF )*7 PS MPXFS ZPVS DIBODF PG QBTTJOH )*7 UP PUIFST You are encouraged to report negative side effects of prescription drugs to the FDA. Visit www.fda.gov/medwatch or call 1-800-FDA-1088.

Actual patient living with HIV since 2000

You can receive valuable information about ways to discuss this condition and EGRIFTA® with your doctor when you sign up at egrifta.com/info or call the AXIS Center2/13 at 877-714-AXIS (2947) 111122-102311

Please see Consumer Brief Summary of EGRIFTA® on following page.

Consumer Brief Summary for EGRIFTAÂŽ (tesamorelin for injection) EGRIFTAÂŽ (eh-GRIF-tuh) (tesamorelin for injection) for subcutaneous use Read the Patient Information that comes with EGRIFTAÂŽ CFGPSF ZPV TUBSU UP UBLF JU BOE FBDI UJNF ZPV HFU B SFĂ MM 5IFSF NBZ CF OFX JOGPSNBUJPO 5IJT MFBĂĄFU EPFT OPU UBLF UIF QMBDF PG UBMLJOH UP ZPVS IFBMUIDBSF QSPWJEFS BCPVU ZPVS NFEJDBM DPOEJUJPO PS your treatment.

What is EGRIFTAÂŽ? t EGRIFTAÂŽ is an injectable prescription medicine to reduce the excess in abdominal fat in HIV-infected patients with lipodystrophy. EGRIFTAÂŽ contains a growth hormonereleasing factor (GRF) t 5IF JNQBDU BOE TBGFUZ PG EGRIFTAÂŽ on cardiovascular health has not been studied t EGRIFTAÂŽ is not indicated for weight-loss management t IU JT OPU LOPXO XIFUIFS UBLJOH EGRIFTAÂŽ helps improve compliance with antiretroviral medications t *U JT OPU LOPXO JG EGRIFTAÂŽ is safe and effective in children. EGRIFTAÂŽ is not recommended to be used in children Who should not use EGRIFTAÂŽ?

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What should I tell my healthcare provider before using EGRIFTAÂŽ?

Before using EGRIFTAÂŽ UFMM ZPVS IFBMUIDBSF QSPWJEFS JG ZPV t have or have had cancer t have diabetes t BSF CSFBTUGFFEJOH PS QMBO UP CSFBTUGFFE *U JT OPU LOPXO JG EGRIFTAÂŽ passes into your CSFBTU NJML 5IF $FOUFST GPS %JTFBTF $POUSPM BOE 1SFWFOUJPO $%$ SFDPNNFOET UIBU )*7 JOGFDUFE NPUIFST OPU CSFBTUGFFE UP BWPJE UIF SJTL PG QBTTJOH )*7 JOGFDUJPO UP ZPVS CBCZ 5BML XJUI ZPVS IFBMUIDBSF QSPWJEFS BCPVU UIF CFTU XBZ UP GFFE ZPVS CBCZ JG ZPV BSF UBLJOH EGRIFTAÂŽ t IBWF LJEOFZ PS MJWFS QSPCMFNT t have any other medical condition 5FMM ZPVS IFBMUIDBSF QSPWJEFS BCPVU BMM UIF NFEJDJOFT ZPV UBLF JODMVEJOH QSFTDSJQUJPO BOE OPOQSFTDSJQUJPO NFEJDJOFT WJUBNJOT BOE IFSCBM TVQQMFNFOUT EGRIFTAÂŽ may affect UIF XBZ PUIFS NFEJDJOFT XPSL BOE PUIFS NFEJDJOFT NBZ BGGFDU IPX EGRIFTAÂŽ XPSLT ,OPX UIF NFEJDJOFT ZPV UBLF ,FFQ B MJTU XJUI ZPV UP TIPX ZPVS IFBMUIDBSF QSPWJEFS BOE pharmacist when you get a new medicine.

How should I use EGRIFTAŽ? t Read the detailed “Instructions for Use� that comes with EGRIFTAŽ before you start using EGRIFTAŽ :PVS IFBMUIDBSF QSPWJEFS XJMM TIPX ZPV IPX UP JOKFDU EGRIFTAŽ t Use EGRIFTAŽ exactly as prescribed by your healthcare provider t Inject EGRIFTAŽ VOEFS UIF TLJO TVCDVUBOFPVTMZ PG ZPVS TUPNBDI BSFB BCEPNFO

t Change (rotate) the injection site on your stomach area (abdomen) with each dose.

Do not inject EGRIFTAÂŽ JOUP TDBS UJTTVF CSVJTFT PS ZPVS OBWFM t %P OPU TIBSF OFFEMFT PS TZSJOHFT XJUI PUIFS QFPQMF 4IBSJOH PG OFFEMFT DBO SFTVMU JO UIF USBOTNJTTJPO PG JOGFDUJPVT EJTFBTFT TVDI BT )*7 What are the possible side effects of EGRIFTAÂŽ?

EGRIFTAÂŽ may cause serious side effects including: t 4FSJPVT BMMFSHJD SFBDUJPO 4PNF QFPQMF UBLJOH EGRIFTAÂŽ may have an allergic reaction.

4UPQ VTJOH EGRIFTAŽ and get emergency help right away if you have any of the following symptoms: – a rash over your body

– hives – swelling of your face or throat – shortness of breath or trouble breathing – fast heartbeat – feeling of faintness or fainting t 4XFMMJOH åVJE SFUFOUJPO EGRIFTAŽ can cause swelling in some parts of your CPEZ $BMM ZPVS IFBMUIDBSF QSPWJEFS JG ZPV IBWF BO JODSFBTF JO KPJOU QBJO PS QBJO PS numbness in your hands or wrist (carpal tunnel syndrome) t *ODSFBTF JO HMVDPTF CMPPE TVHBS JOUPMFSBODF BOE EJBCFUFT :PVS IFBMUIDBSF QSPWJEFS

will measure your blood sugar periodically t *OKFDUJPO TJUF SFBDUJPOT $IBOHF SPUBUF ZPVS JOKFDUJPO TJUF UP IFMQ MPXFS ZPVS SJTL GPS

injection-site reactions. Call your healthcare provider for medical advice if you have the following symptoms around the area of the injection site: – bleeding – redness – rash – itching – swelling – pain – irritation The most common side effects of EGRIFTAŽ include: – joint pain – nausea – vomiting – pain in legs and arms – rash – swelling in your legs – itching – muscle soreness m UJOHMJOH OVNCOFTT BOE QSJDLJOH 5FMM ZPVS IFBMUIDBSF QSPWJEFS JG ZPV IBWF BOZ TJEF FGGFDU UIBU CPUIFST ZPV PS UIBU EPFT not go away.

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General information about the safe and effective use of EGRIFTAÂŽ: .FEJDJOFT BSF TPNFUJNFT QSFTDSJCFE GPS QVSQPTFT PUIFS UIBO UIPTF MJTUFE JO B 1BUJFOU *OGPSNBUJPO MFBĂĄFU %P OPU VTF EGRIFTAÂŽ for a condition for which it was not prescribed.

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EMD Serono, Inc. is a subsidiary of Merck KGaA, Darmstadt, Germany

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da ily do se

A Betting Man The old notions about risks in dating don’t take treatment, testing, and honesty into account

By Tyler Curry

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fter the first few rounds of failed relationships, it can take some positive affirmations and a few Sex and the City reruns not to become disillusioned with the prospect of finding love. Unfortunately, Tylenol doesn’t cure heartache, and a breakup can seem to break you altogether. Still, we keep trying and hope the next one will love us for all the reasons the last one didn’t.

The good news: As we get older, the image of the man we see standing beside us at the altar starts to take shape. We curb dating wildly inappropriate people and become more discerning when choosing our Friday night dinner guests. The bad news: With every potential love comes a series of risks. As the years start to tick by, every bet we make on love seems to be a little more weighted. What if his mother is horrible? What if his friends don’t like me? Or… What if he rejects me for my HIVpositive status?

Learning which risks are unavoidable and which are optional is something crucial for us to do when swimming in the dating pool. Protection from possible disease, including HIV, should be on the mind of every single gay man. However, the risk of dating someone who is HIV-positive is severely misunderstood. As for the actual risk of dating a man who doesn’t know his status—a human question mark—that’s when you should hold on to your chips.

You may think that dating an HIV-positive man increases your risk of infection. In

fact, it likely does the opposite. If your prospective mate has the gumption to disclose his positive status before the first round of cocktails, you can be certain that he has taken steps to protect your negative status.

A common misconception is that once a man learns he’s HIV-positive, he’ll behave in an unsafe, reckless way—that the damage is done and he no longer has to worry about protecting himself. In fact, the positive man must protect himself even more, to safeguard his health from pesky ancillary viruses. For him, that means avoiding those question marks at all costs. For you, well…an HIV-positive man who is in treatment and is determined by his physician to have an undetectable viral load has reduced your risk to the smallest statistical possibility. Of course, condom use should be nonnegotiable in any dating scenario.

But a man who is up front with his status should put you at ease. After all, he showed you his cards.

So who is the risky bet?

So often you will hear a gay man prematurely divulge his negative HIV status as soon as one of his friends brings up the topic. Be wary—he may just be the guy who convinces himself he is negative just because he doesn’t know whether he is positive. Truth is, if he has had even one sexual encounter since his last test, he is a question mark.

Of course, we would all like for those who don’t know their status to be up front about it. We would also like to believe that we are smarter or better protected than those who bear the plus sign. But the persuasion of romance, compounded by several months of exclusivity, can sometimes get the best of us. I know. I was suckered into a bad gamble by sweet talk and pretty brown eyes once before.

Yet the romance faded, those brown eyes now sparkle for someone else, and I am left with this damn positive sign that I can’t seem to scrub off. It’s not the bet I thought I was making, but life is far from over. Now I approach every pair of pretty eyes with my truth, because the gamble of transmitting this stigma is far worse than any pill the doctor may prescribe.

So if you need to, take some time with Carrie Bradshaw and the girls and collect yourself. Dating is exciting, and anything exciting involves risk. But as long as you are honest with yourself and safe with each other, one thing you won’t be gambling with is your health.

As for his bratty friends and snob of a mother, you’ll just have to roll the dice.

Tyler Curry is a freelance writer and the creator of the Needle Prick Project, a editorial and visual campaign to elicit a new conversation about HIV. Follow him on Twitter @iamtylercurry. ✜ m ay/j u n e 2 0 1 3

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CASE STUDIES

skin deep Why are people with HIV more prone to skin cancer?

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eople with hiv are at a higher risk of being diagnosed with nonmelanoma skin cancer, which is already one of the most prevalent forms of cancer in the U.S. A 12-year Kaiser Permanente study indicates that people with HIV are twice as likely as people who are HIV-negative to contract some form of nonmelanoma skin cancer. Squamous cell carcinoma, which forms on the outermost part of the epidermis (the top layer of the skin), is related to a person’s immunodeficiency and associated with lower CD4cell counts, according to the study, published in the Journal of the National Cancer Institute. The other major type of skin cancer that HIVers are more prone to is basal cell carcinoma, which grows within the deepest part of the epidermis.

More than 3.5 million new cases of nonmelanoma skin cancer are diagnosed each year, according to the journal Archives of Dermatology. While this form of cancer can be easily treated, some cases become locally invasive and medically dangerous.

Because people with HIV are living longer, says lead study author Michael J. Silverberg, Ph.D., MPH, of the Kaiser Permanente Division of Research, the burden of these age-related (rather than AIDSrelated) cancers “will only continue to increase. Based on our studies, nonmelanoma skin cancers are by far the most common cancer this population experiences.”

Among the general population, there is typically one case of squamous cell carcinoma for every four cases of basal cell carcinoma.

For HIVers, though, the ratio is different, says Maryam M. Asgari, MD, MPH, a senior author on the study and an investigator at Kaiser Permanente’s Division of Research.

“For HIV-positive subjects with low CD4 counts,” she says, “there was one case of squamous cell carcinoma for every two cases of basal cell carcinoma.”

Previous studies have indicated that people with HIV are more prone to cancer due to their immunodeficiency. However, there has been very little information about the prevalence of nonmelanoma skin cancer among the HIV-positive population.

What can you do to stay healthy?

Asgari says you should be vigilant about skin-cancer screening, “especially for squamous cell carcinomas and particularly for those who are not on antiretroviral therapy or who were diagnosed late and have more advanced HIV/AIDS.” She adds that HIV-positive individuals should “reduce behaviors that may further increase nonmelanoma skin cancer incidence, such as excessive sun exposure.”

And since there appears to be a link between immunodeficiency and squamous cell carcinoma, starting antiretroviral therapy as early as possible to maintain higher CD4 counts “may also help reduce the burden of this cancer.”

—Michelle Garcia

Buzzing With Potency A toxin in bee venom can destroy HIV

To Give Is Divine New legislation could finally allow people with HIV to donate their organs to others with the disease. Here’s why the HOPE Act must pass

Opposite page: photos.com; this page: photos.com (2)

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here are about 500 HIV-positive people in need of kidney transplants and countless others with HIV who need different lifesaving transplants. Their plight is complicated by the fact that, since 1984, HIV-positive people have been barred from donating organs—but that may soon change.

The HIV Organ Policy Equity, or HOPE, Act is advancing through Congress and could be the first step in allowing HIV-positive people to donate organs to others with HIV. If passed, the legislation would end that ban and initiate a review process for the secretary of Health and Human Services to evaluate medical research on transplants between HIV-positive donors and recipients, and if the research satisfies the secretary, such procedures could begin.

Organs from HIV-positive people have already been successfully transplanted in others with HIV in South Africa. Back in the U.S., while organ donation by HIVers remains banned, patients with diseases such as hepatitis C are allowed to donate organs to others with the disease. The singling out of HIV when it comes to organ donation doesn’t make sense, supporters say.

“The HOPE Act is a bipartisan, commonsense bill that reflects the progress we are making in medicine, as well as in breaking down the stigma associated with HIV/ AIDS,” Wisconsin senator Tammy Baldwin,

the Democratic cosponsor of the bill, said in a statement. “By allowing us to move forward with this critical research, the HOPE Act will help decrease the organ wait time, save countless lives, and reduce health care costs in the long-run.”

Many believe that benefits of the HOPE Act will extend beyond people with HIV. Currently, Medicare covers care for those experiencing kidney failure; if HIV-positive patients could receive new kidneys, it’s estimated their health care costs could be cut by $500,000 per patient. HOPE would also make more organs available to HIV-negative people, since those with HIV currently receive organs from the same pool of HIVnegative donors.

For HIV-positive people, though, the HOPE Act means another step toward health decisions being based on science, not old fears.

“This legislation represents a positive step forward for sensible HIV and health policy by removing outdated barriers to common-sense, data-driven procedures for the donation of life-saving organs,” writer Andrew Cray argued on AmericanProgress. org. “These changes have the potential to change the lives of thousands of individuals in need of organ transplants, demonstrating a shift in the dialogue around donation policies for individuals with or at risk for HIV infection.” —Neal Broverman

Nanoparticles carrying a toxin typically found in bee venom have the ability to destroy HIV but leave surrounding cells unharmed.

Scientists at Washington University School of Medicine in St. Louis say the toxin, known as melittin, could help create a potent vaginal gel that could halt HIV transmission. Because melittin is safe for vaginal use, the researchers say it could prove useful for couples in which the male partner is HIV-positive and who want to conceive children naturally. And ultimately, the toxin may even provide a treatment for people with HIV, especially those with drug-resistant infections.

“The basic particle that we are using in these experiments was developed many years ago as an artificial blood product,” Joshua L. Hood, MD, Ph.D., said in a press release. “It didn’t work very well for delivering oxygen, but it circulates safely in the body and gives us a nice platform that we can adapt to fight different kinds of infections.”

Melittin also could be used to treat hepatitis B and C because of its ability to attack double-layered membranes indiscriminately, the researchers said.

The experiments were performed with cells in a laboratory, but the scientists are confident that enough nanoparticles can be manufactured to supply clinical trials.

Full findings were published in the journal Antiviral Therapy.

—Michelle Garcia

Treatment chronicles

With Early Treatment Comes A Breakthrough

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eeks after a pediatrician in Mississippi said her 2-year-old patient was effectively rid of the HIV she was born with, another 14 people were deemed “functionally cured” of the virus.

The 14 patients received antiretroviral treatment within 10 weeks of infection. Asier Sáez-Cirión, Ph.D., of the Pasteur Institute in Paris, the lead investigator of the adult study, said this type of early treatment can control infection in 10%-15% of people with HIV; the 14 people were part of a group of 70 whose treatment had been administered earlier than a typical medication regimen. Each person in the group of 70 had interrupted treatment, either by choosing to stop taking the medication or by ending a clinical trial in which they received it.

Similarly, the young girl was given treatment (zidovudine, or AZT, lamivudine, and nevirapine) within hours of birth after two blood tests determined that she was HIV-positive. When she was 29 days old, the virus became undetectable. The girl continued regular treatment for 18 months, but 16

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then her mother stopped bringing her in for treatment for the following 10 months.

Doctors did not specify the reason for this.

When the child finally came back under the care of Hannah Gay, MD, a pediatric HIV specialist at the University of Mississippi Medical Center in Jackson, Gay tested the girl and found that she still exhibited no HIV-specific antibodies.

“At that point, I knew I was dealing with a very unusual case,” Gay told Reuters.

Most of the people in the group of 70 reverted to having high viral levels once they stopped taking medication, but 14 people were able to stay off medication for an average of seven years without the virus rebounding, and one has been off for 10 years. Those people still have HIV in their blood, but the viral levels are so low that their bodies can counter the HIV naturally, without medication. Early treatment prevents the virus from finding reservoirs in which to hide in the body, according to the full report published in the journal PLoS Pathogens.

The people in the group of 14 are not part of the estimated 1% of humans immune to HIV. Instead, most of these 14 had severe

symptoms, so they merited early treatment.

“Paradoxically, doing badly helped them do better later,” Sáez-Cirión said upon announcing his findings.

The scientists involved are not calling this a cure, but a “sustained remission that doesn’t require therapy” or a “functional cure,” said Anthony Fauci, MD, director of the National Institute of Allergy and Infectious Diseases.

“You haven’t eradicated the virus, but interestingly, when you stop therapy, even though the virus is still there and you can measure it, it doesn’t come back with a vengeance and cause disease in the person,” Fauci told CNN. Andrew Ball, senior adviser on HIV and AIDS strategy at the World Health Organization in Geneva, told New Scientist that these findings provide an entry point in developing a more effective functional cure for a broader market.

“The big challenge is identifying people very early in their infection,” Ball said.

There’s a good rationale for being tested early, and the latest results may give some encouragement to do that.”—Michelle Garcia

This page: photos.com; opposite page: pills: photos.com

Functional cures in a child and a group of 14 adults have researchers investigating whether earlier treatment could help eradicate the virus

Medical Bracelets Just Got Cooler Say goodbye to those metal things you wore as a kid that said things like “Diabetic” or “Allergies.” The new Care Medical History Bracelet lets you store all your personal health history data so that emergency medical staff can easily see your medical records on their computers (via a USB plug-in). A wearable memory device that comes in a myriad of rainbow colors and several different sizes, the bracelet comes preloaded with Care e-Manager Software so you can store prescription records, doctors’ visits and notes, health tests, diagnostics, immunization dates and history, drug allergies, insurance references, doctors’ and specialists’ contacts, and pretty much anything else that helps avoid medical errors and could possibly save your life. It is currently used by a number of institutions too, including the Muhammad Ali Parkinson Center and The Special Olympics. It’s waterproof and sold at CVS, Walgreens, Target, and more. ($29.99, MedicalHistoryBracelet.com) —D.A.M.

One-a-Day Pills Get Even Better A new medication, currently in the testing phase, could make HIV treatment even easier

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hen the Food and Drug Administration approved Stribild last year as a onepill daily treatment for HIV, the lives of millions were changed for the better. Now drugmaker Gilead is working to improve on the medication and recently released successful study results for a drug similar to Stribild, but with far fewer side effects.

At the March Conference on Retroviruses and Opportunistic Infections in Atlanta, Gilead announced the results of its Phase II study of a single-tablet regimen that contains TAF, or tenofovir alafenamide (a modified form of tenofovir, which is marketed as Viread), and a similar combination of the other treatments that Stribild uses to keep HIV at bay.

The TAF-based combination pill suppressed the virus to a similar degree as Stribild, but, said investigator Andrew Zolopa, MD, it proved easier on the kidneys and bones.

“Given that HIV is now a chronic disease that can be managed with lifelong therapy,” he said, “there remains a need for new treatment options that are well-tolerated.” Turns out, he and his research team are hoping that this is it.

Like all medications, Stribild carries the risk of side effects, the two most serious being kidney failure and bone weakness. The TAF-based option appears to lessen those risks, while also accomplishing what Stribild does with HIV. “Both regimens were generally well-tolerated” in the study, said a Gilead statement.

Gilead is now advancing the new med to the next phase of studies, which will look at how patients new to HIV treatment respond to the regimen.

“The Phase III program for TAF is enrolling rapidly, and we look forward to sharing initial results from these studies next year,” Erin Rau, associate director of public affairs for Gilead, told HIV Plus. —Neal Broverman m ay/j u n e 2 0 1 3 •

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PROUD

POSITIVE 10 AMAZING HIV-POSITIVE GAY MEN FROM FREDDY MERCURY TO VITO RUSSO, THERE HAVE BEEN THOUSANDS OF AMAZING GAY AND BISEXUAL MEN WHO HAVE LIVED WITH HIV. IN HONOR OF LGBT PRIDE MONTH, WE’RE CELEBRATING 10 OF OUR FAVORITE GAY MEN WHO ARE REINVENTING WHAT IT MEANS TO BE HIV-POSITIVE IN 2013 SIMPLY BY BEING THEMSELVES.

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New York City

TV Personality & Founder of Volttage.com

it’s hard to imagine that Jack Mackenroth was only 4 foot 11 in high school, but it’s a fact his younger sister, Sarah, likes to share with the media. (And the fact that Mackenroth liked to steal her Barbie dolls.) The muscled designer turned pinup turned activist was kind of a runty late bloomer. But boy, has he bloomed.

After a childhood in Seattle with a single mom and two siblings, Mackenroth entered the world of fashion via the famed Parsons School of Design. He began modeling, and through the 1990s he appeared in dozens of publications, including Men’s Fitness and Paper magazines. Not long after leaving Parsons, Mackenroth ran his own menswear store (Jack, in New York’s West Village), then had stints designing for Tommy Hilfiger, Levi’s, and Weatherproof. Somewhere along the way he found time to swim competitively, winning three all-American titles, setting a national breaststroke record, and finishing 12th in that event at the 2006 World Masters Championships. This was a man who succeeded in everything he did.

But priorities changed for Mackenroth in 2007, when he became a contestant on Project Runway’s fourth season. He was never in the bottom three, and in episode 3 he won the menswear challenge. He was a designer to beat.

Then in episode 5, Mackenroth became the first designer to leave Project Runway for medical reasons; he had developed a contagious drugresistant staph infection. Mackenroth came out to his castmates—and America—about being HIV-positive and needing to take extra care with his health. He left the show, spent a week in a hospital, and found his calling.

Today, Mackenroth, who still designs, especially for charity (in 2008 he created a wedding gown made entirely of condoms for San Francisco’s Project Inform), is an HIV activist and one of the few HIV-positive celebrities who uses his status to change how people think about HIV. He’s worked with a number of HIV/AIDS charities, and now he’s started a dating site for HIV-positive men, Volttage.

—Diane Anderson-Minshall

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would move “activist” to the front of the line because that’s what I am most proud of, and activism and HIV awareness is what I’m really focusing my energy on. My new dating site for HIV-positive men is also another outlet for HIV visibility and awareness.

Why are you involved in so many different things? I’ve always been an overachiever.

I think it was drilled into my DNA when I was a kid. I’m happiest when I’m working on multiple projects. I’m sort of fearless, so when an interesting opportunity presents itself I say yes. And I’m constantly thinking of new ways to reinvent myself.

What was your thinking behind launching Volttage? Volttage.com, soon to be a

mobile app as well, was a response to the nonstop messages and emails I receive about the difficulties around disclosure and discrimination in the dating scene. Online dating is particularly attractive to HIV-positive guys because it’s easier to disclose and risk rejection online rather than deal with it face-to-face. I wanted to create a community where HIV status was a nonissue, thus removing the stigma altogether. On Volttage we do not ask HIV status. We believe that everyone should always assume their partner is HIV- positive and proceed accordingly. Volttage is clearly marketing to HIV-positive gay men, but we do not discriminate against negative guys.

Is it the first of its kind? Volttage is not the first dating site for HIV-positive individuals, but it is certainly the first of its kind. We are the first to target HIV-positive MSM [men who have sex with men] and we are the first to create a sexy, healthy, sex-positive community that gets real about sex and relationships. We are currently building the blog portion of the site because we also want Volttage to be a hub for information, resources, and support. The potential benefit to the HIV community is massive. I’m really excited about the potential.

What’s the response to Volttage been? The response has been amazing! We have reached over 8,000 members in less than six months with zero advertising, so clearly the need was there. The personal messages I have received on the site are very encouraging.

The general opinion is that it was long overdue. Now we are looking for investors so we can finish the mobile app and really expand the brand and boost the membership. Then Volttage will become a really powerful tool in raising awareness and increasing HIV visibility. We just signed on Ji Wallace as one of our Volttage men. He is the Olympic silver medalist who came out as HIV-positive this past year.

Yes, he was on our cover recently. Plus all our models are HIV-positive, and we want

to send out the message that having HIV is not shameful.

Since you run a dating site, what does a guy have to do to land a date with you?

Well, creating a dating site sure is a lot of effort just to get a date, right? [Laughs] But yeah, I am single. At this point in my life I’m looking to settle down. To get a date with me, you would probably have to ask me. I’m not great with small talk. I’m generally attracted to guys near my age and size. If you want a second date, you should have a job and some real interests other than circuit parties. Who the hell knows? Send me a message on Facebook.

You were the first contestant on Project Runway to come out as HIV-positive.

Was that freeing to do that on national TV? Yes, in a sense. I have been positive for 23

years, so when the show aired I was already totally out to everyone and already quite outspoken about it. Disclosing my status on Project Runway did two great things. I basically never have to disclose my status again, which is a relief, and it gave the HIV community a much-needed role model. I was on season 4, when Project Runway was at its peak of popularity, and no TV personality had publicly come out as HIV-positive since Pedro Zamora from The Real World in 1994. The outpouring of support was massive and immediate. I’m

PhotosByRedApple.com

JACK MACKENROTH

You wear a lot of hats—designer, swimmer, model, activist, and now founder of Volttage. [Laughs] Yes, I do, hopefully very stylish hats. You described me pretty well. I

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from left: ge t t y images; COURTESY Cbs; ge t t y images

The

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for me

Patient model. Pill shown is not actual size.

What is COMPLERA? COMPLERA is a prescription HIV medicine that is used as a complete regimen to treat HIV-1 in adults who have never taken HIV medicines before and who have an amount of HIV in their blood (this is called “viral load”) that is no more than 100,000 copies/mL. COMPLERA contains 3 medicines – rilpivirine, emtricitabine and tenofovir disoproxil fumarate. It is not known if COMPLERA is safe and effective in children under the age of 18 years. ®

COMPLERA® does not cure HIV-1 infection or AIDS. To control HIV-1 infection and decrease HIV-related illnesses you must keep taking COMPLERA. Avoid doing things that can spread HIV-1 to others: always practice safer sex and use condoms to lower the chance of sexual contact with body fluids; never reuse or share needles or other items that have body fluids on them, do not share personal items that may contain bodily fluids. Ask your healthcare provider if you have questions about how to reduce the risk of passing HIV-1 to others.

IMPORTANT SAFETY INFORMATION What is the most important information you should know about COMPLERA? COMPLERA® can cause serious side effects: t Build-up of an acid in your blood (lactic acidosis), which is a serious medical emergency. Symptoms of lactic acidosis include feeling very weak or tired, unusual (not normal) muscle pain, trouble breathing, stomach pain with nausea or vomiting, feeling cold, especially in your arms and legs, feeling dizzy or lightheaded, and/or a fast or irregular heartbeat. t Serious liver problems. The liver may become large (hepatomegaly) and fatty (steatosis). Symptoms of liver problems include your skin or the white part of your eyes turns yellow (jaundice), dark “tea-colored” urine, light-colored bowel movements (stools), loss of appetite for several days or longer, nausea, and/or stomach pain. t You may be more likely to get lactic acidosis or serious liver problems if you are female, very overweight (obese), or have been taking COMPLERA for a long time.

In some cases, these serious conditions have led to death. Call your healthcare provider right away if you have any symptoms of these conditions. t Worsening of hepatitis B (HBV) infection. If you also have HBV and stop taking COMPLERA, your hepatitis may suddenly get worse. Do not stop taking COMPLERA without first talking to your healthcare provider, as they will need to monitor your health. COMPLERA is not approved for the treatment of HBV.

Who should not take COMPLERA? Do not take COMPLERA if you have ever taken other anti-HIV medicines.

COMPLERA may change the effect of other medicines and may cause serious side effects. Your healthcare provider may change your other medicines or change their doses.

Do not take COMPLERA if you also take these medicines: t anti-seizure medicines: carbamazepine (Carbatrol, Equetro, Tegretol, Tegretol-XR, Teril, Epitol); oxcarbazepine (Trileptal), phenobarbital (Luminal), phenytoin (Dilantin, Dilantin-125, Phenytek) t anti-tuberculosis medicines: rifabutin (Mycobutin), rifampin (Rifater, Rifamate, Rimactane, Rifadin) and rifapentine (Priftin) t proton pump inhibitors for stomach or intestinal problems: esomeprazole (Nexium, Vimovo), lansoprazole (Prevacid), dexlansoprazole (Dexilant), omeprazole (Prilosec), pantoprazole sodium (Protonix), rabeprazole (Aciphex) t more than 1 dose of the steroid medicine dexamethasone or dexamethasone sodium phosphate t St. John’s wort (Hypericum perforatum) If you are taking COMPLERA you should not take other HIV medicines or other medicines containing tenofovir (Viread, Truvada, Stribild or Atripla); other medicines containing emtricitabine or lamivudine (Emtriva, Combivir, Epivir, Epivir-HBV, Epzicom, Trizivir, Atripla, Stribild or Truvada); rilpivirine (Edurant) or adefovir (Hepsera).

In addition, tell your healthcare provider if you are taking the following medications because they may interfere with how COMPLERA works and may cause side effects: t certain antacid medicines containing aluminum, magnesium hydroxide, or calcium carbonate (examples: Rolaids, TUMS). These medicines must be taken at least 2 hours before or 4 hours after COMPLERA. t medicines to block stomach acid including cimetidine (Tagamet), famotidine (Pepcid), nizatidine (Axid), or ranitidine HCL (Zantac). These medicines must be taken at least 12 hours before or 4 hours after COMPLERA. t any of these medicines: clarithromycin (Biaxin); erythromycin (E-Mycin, Eryc, Ery-Tab, PCE, Pediazole, Ilosone), fluconazole (Diflucan), itraconazole (Sporanox), ketoconazole (Nizoral) methadone (Dolophine); posaconazole (Noxifil), telithromycin (Ketek) or voriconazole (Vfend). t medicines that are eliminated by the kidneys like acyclovir (Zovirax), cidofovir (Vistide), ganciclovir (Cytovene IV, Vitrasert), valacyclovir (Valtrex) and valganciclovir (Valcyte).

COMPLERA.

A complete HIV treatment in only 1 pill a day.

COMPLERA is for adults who have never taken HIV-1 medicines before and have no more than 100,000 copies/mL of virus in their blood.

Ask your healthcare provider if it’s the one for you.

These are not all the medicines that may cause problems if you take COMPLERA. Tell your healthcare provider about all prescription and nonprescription medicines, vitamins, or herbal supplements you are taking or plan to take.

The most common side effects reported with COMPLERA are trouble sleeping (insomnia), abnormal dreams, headache, dizziness, diarrhea, nausea, rash, tiredness, and depression. Some side effects also reported include vomiting, stomach pain or discomfort, skin discoloration (small spots or freckles) and pain.

Before taking COMPLERA, tell your healthcare provider if you: liver problems, including hepatitis B or C virus infection, or have abnormal liver tests t Have kidney problems t Have ever had a mental health problem t Have bone problems t Are pregnant or planning to become pregnant. It is not known if COMPLERA can harm your unborn child t Are breastfeeding: Women with HIV should not breastfeed because they can pass HIV through their milk to the baby. Also, COMPLERA may pass through breast milk and could cause harm to the baby

This is not a complete list of side effects. Tell your healthcare provider or pharmacist if you notice any side effects while taking COMPLERA, and call your healthcare provider for medical advice about side effects.

t Have

COMPLERA can cause additional serious side effects: t New or worsening kidney problems, including kidney failure. If you have had kidney problems, or take other medicines that may cause kidney problems, your healthcare provider may need to do regular blood tests. t Depression or mood changes. Tell your healthcare provider right away if you have any of the following symptoms: feeling sad or hopeless, feeling anxious or restless, have thoughts of hurting yourself (suicide) or have tried to hurt yourself. t Changes in liver enzymes: People who have had hepatitis B or C, or who have had changes in their liver function tests in the past may have an increased risk for liver problems while taking COMPLERA. Some people without prior liver disease may also be at risk. Your healthcare provider may need to check your liver enzymes before and during treatment with COMPLERA. t Bone problems can happen in some people who take COMPLERA. Bone problems include bone pain, softening or thinning (which may lead to fractures). Your healthcare provider may need to do additional tests to check your bones. t Changes in body fat can happen in people taking HIV medicine. t Changes in your immune system. Your immune system may get stronger and begin to fight infections that have been hidden in your body for a long time. Tell your healthcare provider if you start having new symptoms after starting COMPLERA.

You are encouraged to report negative side effects of prescription drugs to the FDA. Visit http://www.fda.gov/medwatch or call 1-800-FDA-1088.

Additional Information about taking COMPLERA:

t Always take COMPLERA exactly as your healthcare provider tells you to take it. t Take COMPLERA with a meal. Taking COMPLERA with a meal is important to help

get the right amount of medicine in your body. (A protein drink does not replace a meal).

Stay under the care of your healthcare provider during treatment with COMPLERA and see your healthcare provider regularly.

Please see Brief Summary of full Prescribing Information with important warnings on the following pages.

Learn more at www.COMPLERA.com

Patient Information

t

COMPLERA (kom-PLEH-rah) (emtricitabine, rilpivirine, tenofovir disoproxil fumarate) tablets ®

Brief summary of full Prescribing Information. For more information, please see the full Prescribing Information including Patient Information.

What is COMPLERA? t

COMPLERA is a prescription HIV (Human Immunodeficiency Virus) medicine that is used to treat HIV-1 in adults – who have never taken HIV medicines before, and – who have an amount of HIV in their blood (this is called ‘viral load’) that is no more than 100,000 copies/mL. Your healthcare provider will measure your viral load.

(HIV is the virus that causes AIDS (Acquired Immunodeficiency Syndrome)). t

COMPLERA contains 3 medicines – rilpivirine, emtricitabine, tenofovir disoproxil fumarate – combined in one tablet. It is a complete regimen to treat HIV-1 infection and should not be used with other HIV medicines.

t

It is not known if COMPLERA is safe and effective in children under the age of 18 years old.

t

COMPLERA does not cure HIV infection or AIDS. You must stay on continuous therapy to control HIV infection and decrease HIV-related illnesses.

t

Ask your healthcare provider if you have any questions about how to prevent passing HIV to other people. Do not share or re-use needles or other injection equipment, and do not share personal items that can have blood or body fluids on them, like toothbrushes and razor blades. Always practice safer sex by using a latex or polyurethane condom to lower the chance of sexual contact with semen, vaginal fluids or blood.

Who should not take COMPLERA? Do not take COMPLERA if: t your HIV infection has been previously treated with HIV medicines. t

you are taking any of the following medicines: – anti-seizure medicines: carbamazepine (Carbatrol, Equetro, Tegretol, Tegretol-XR, Teril, Epitol); oxcarbazepine (Trileptal); phenobarbital (Luminal); phenytoin (Dilantin, Dilantin-125, Phenytek) – anti-tuberculosis (anti-TB) medicines: rifabutin (Mycobutin); rifampin (Rifater, Rifamate, Rimactane, Rifadin); rifapentine (Priftin) – proton pump inhibitor (PPI) medicine for certain stomach or intestinal problems: esomeprazole (Nexium, Vimovo); lansoprazole (Prevacid); dexlansoprazole (Dexilant); omeprazole (Prilosec, Zegerid); pantoprazole sodium (Protonix); rabeprazole (Aciphex) – more than 1 dose of the steroid medicine dexamethasone or dexamethasone sodium phosphate – St. John’s wort (Hypericum perforatum)

t

If you take COMPLERA, you should not take: – Other medicines that contain tenofovir (Atripla, Stribild, Truvada, Viread)

What is the most important information I should know about COMPLERA? COMPLERA can cause serious side effects, including: t Build-up of lactic acid in your blood (lactic acidosis). Lactic acidosis can happen in some people who take COMPLERA or similar (nucleoside analogs) medicines. Lactic acidosis is a serious medical emergency that can lead to death. Lactic acidosis can be hard to identify early, because the symptoms could seem like symptoms of other health problems. Call your healthcare provider right away if you get any of the following symptoms which could be signs of lactic acidosis: – feel very weak or tired – have unusual (not normal) muscle pain – have trouble breathing – have stomach pain with nausea (feeling sick to your stomach) or vomiting – feel cold, especially in your arms and legs

– Other medicines that contain emtricitabine or lamivudine (Combivir, Emtriva, Epivir or Epivir-HBV, Epzicom, Trizivir, Atripla, Truvada, Stribild) – rilpivirine (Edurant) – adefovir (Hepsera) What should I tell my healthcare provider before taking COMPLERA? Before you take COMPLERA, tell your healthcare provider if you: t have or had liver problems, including hepatitis B or C virus infection, kidney problems, mental health problem or bone problems t

– feel dizzy or lightheaded Severe liver problems. Severe liver problems can happen in people who take COMPLERA. In some cases, these liver problems can lead to death. Your liver may become large (hepatomegaly) and you may develop fat in your liver (steatosis). Call your healthcare provider right away if you get any of the following symptoms of liver problems:

t

– your skin or the white part of your eyes turns yellow (jaundice) – dark “tea-colored” urine – light-colored bowel movements (stools)

are breast-feeding or plan to breast-feed. You should not breastfeed if you have HIV because of the risk of passing HIV to your baby. Do not breastfeed if you are taking COMPLERA. At least two of the medicines contained in COMPLERA can be passed to your baby in your breast milk. We do not know whether this could harm your baby. Talk to your healthcare provider about the best way to feed your baby.

– loss of appetite for several days or longer

Tell your healthcare provider about all the medicines you take, including prescription and nonprescription medicines, vitamins, and herbal supplements.

– nausea

t

– stomach pain t

are pregnant or plan to become pregnant. It is not known if COMPLERA can harm your unborn child.

Pregnancy Registry. There is a pregnancy registry for women who take antiviral medicines during pregnancy. The purpose of this registry is to collect information about the health of you and your baby. Talk to your healthcare provider about how you can take part in this registry.

– have a fast or irregular heartbeat t

Worsening of Hepatitis B infection. If you have hepatitis B virus (HBV) infection and take COMPLERA, your HBV may get worse (flare-up) if you stop taking COMPLERA. A “flare-up” is when your HBV infection suddenly returns in a worse way than before. COMPLERA is not approved for the treatment of HBV, so you must discuss your HBV with your healthcare provider.

– Do not let your COMPLERA run out. Refill your prescription or talk to your healthcare provider before your COMPLERA is all gone.

– Do not stop taking COMPLERA without first talking to your healthcare provider.

– If you stop taking COMPLERA, your healthcare provider will need to check your health often and do blood tests regularly to check your HBV infection.

Tell your healthcare provider about any new or unusual symptoms you may have after you stop taking COMPLERA.

You may be more likely to get lactic acidosis or severe liver problems if you are female, very overweight (obese), or have been taking COMPLERA for a long time.

COMPLERA may affect the way other medicines work, and other medicines may affect how COMPLERA works, and may cause serious side effects. If you take certain medicines with COMPLERA, the amount of COMPLERA in your body may be too low and it may not work to help control your HIV infection.

The HIV virus in your body may become resistant to COMPLERA or other HIV medicines that are like it.

Especially tell your healthcare provider if you take: t an antacid medicine that contains aluminum, magnesium hydroxide, or calcium carbonate. If you take an antacid during treatment with COMPLERA, take the antacid at least 2 hours before or at least 4 hours after you take COMPLERA. t

t

a medicine to block the acid in your stomach, including cimetidine (Tagamet), famotidine (Pepcid), nizatidine (Axid), or ranitidine hydrochloride (Zantac). If you take one of these medicines during treatment with COMPLERA, take the acid blocker at least 12 hours before or at least 4 hours after you take COMPLERA. any of these medicines (if taken by mouth or injection): – clarithromycin (Biaxin) – erythromycin (E-Mycin, Eryc, Ery-Tab, PCE, Pediazole, Ilosone) – fluconazole (Diflucan)

t

trouble sleeping (insomnia)

t

abnormal dreams

t

headache

t

dizziness

t

diarrhea

t

nausea

t

rash

t

tiredness

t

depression

Additional common side effects include: t

– itraconazole (Sporanox)

vomiting

t

– ketoconazole (Nizoral)

stomach pain or discomfort

t

– methadone (Dolophine)

skin discoloration (small spots or freckles)

t

pain

– posaconazole (Noxafil) – telithromycin (Ketek) – voriconazole (Vfend) t

The most common side effects of COMPLERA include:

medicines that are eliminated by the kidney, including acyclovir (Zovirax), cidofovir (Vistide), ganciclovir (Cytovene IV, Vitrasert), valacyclovir (Valtrex), and valganciclovir (Valcyte)

Tell your healthcare provider if you have any side effect that bothers you or that does not go away.

These are not all the possible side effects of COMPLERA. For more information, ask your healthcare provider or pharmacist.

Call your doctor for medical advice about side effects. You may report side effects to FDA at 1-800-FDA-1088 (1-800-332-1088).

What are the possible side effects of COMPLERA?

How should I take COMPLERA?

COMPLERA can cause serious side effects, including: t See “What is the most important information I should know about COMPLERA?”

t

Stay under the care of your healthcare provider during treatment with COMPLERA.

t

Take COMPLERA exactly as your healthcare provider tells you to take it.

t

Always take COMPLERA with a meal. Taking COMPLERA with a meal is important to help get the right amount of medicine in your body. A protein drink does not replace a meal.

t

Do not change your dose or stop taking COMPLERA without first talking with your healthcare provider. See your healthcare provider regularly while taking COMPLERA.

t

If you miss a dose of COMPLERA within 12 hours of the time you usually take it, take your dose of COMPLERA with a meal as soon as possible. Then, take your next dose of COMPLERA at the regularly scheduled time. If you miss a dose of COMPLERA by more than 12 hours of the time you usually take it, wait and then take the next dose of COMPLERA at the regularly scheduled time.

t

Do not take more than your prescribed dose to make up for a missed dose.

t

t

New or worse kidney problems, including kidney failure, can happen in some people who take COMPLERA. Your healthcare provider should do blood tests to check your kidneys before starting treatment with COMPLERA. If you have had kidney problems in the past or need to take another medicine that can cause kidney problems, your healthcare provider may need to do blood tests to check your kidneys during your treatment with COMPLERA. Depression or mood changes. Tell your healthcare provider right away if you have any of the following symptoms: – feeling sad or hopeless – feeling anxious or restless – have thoughts of hurting yourself (suicide) or have tried to hurt yourself

t

Change in liver enzymes. People with a history of hepatitis B or C virus infection or who have certain liver enzyme changes may have an increased risk of developing new or worsening liver problems during treatment with COMPLERA. Liver problems can also happen during treatment with COMPLERA in people without a history of liver disease. Your healthcare provider may need to do tests to check your liver enzymes before and during treatment with COMPLERA.

t

Bone problems can happen in some people who take COMPLERA. Bone problems include bone pain, softening or thinning (which may lead to fractures). Your healthcare provider may need to do additional tests to check your bones.

t

Changes in body fat can happen in people taking HIV medicine. These changes may include increased amount of fat in the upper back and neck (“buffalo hump”), breast, and around the main part of your body (trunk).

Loss of fat from the legs, arms and face may also happen. The cause and long term health effect of these conditions are not known.

t

Changes in your immune system (Immune Reconstitution Syndrome) can happen when you start taking HIV medicines. Your immune system may get stronger and begin to fight infections that have been hidden in your body for a long time. Tell your healthcare provider if you start having new symptoms after starting your HIV medicine.

This Brief Summary summarizes the most important information about COMPLERA. If you would like more information, talk with your healthcare provider. You can also ask your healthcare provider or pharmacist for information about COMPLERA that is written for health professionals, or call 1-800-445-3235 or go to www.COMPLERA.com Issued: January 2013

COMPLERA, the COMPLERA Logo, EMTRIVA, GILEAD, the GILEAD Logo, GSI, HEPSERA, STRIBILD, TRUVADA, VIREAD, and VISTIDE are trademarks of Gilead Sciences, Inc., or its related companies.

ATRIPLA is a trademark of Bristol-Myers Squibb & Gilead Sciences, LLC. All other marks referenced herein are the property of their respective owners. ©2013 Gilead Sciences, Inc. All rights reserved. CPAC0014 03/13

Mackenroth (clockwise from above) on Project Runway; with his Living Positive peep Mondo Guerra; at the AIDS Walk New York opening ceremony in 2011

You’ve been HIV-positive since 1990. To what do you credit your longevity? Well,

in all honesty, part of it is luck. Statistically I should be dead. However, I made some personal decisions early that worked in my favor.

I got on the available medications immediately after my diagnosis, which seemed to work. I’ve always had great doctors that I can be totally honest with, and I take care of my overall health and wellness with medication, diet, and exercise. I also believe that being open about my status has been a huge stress relief. Living with a secret can be a burden.

What is the one thing most people don’t know about you? I’m not very social. I think

people assume I have a very glamorous life, full of photo shoots and parties. I consider those things to be work. I don’t ever go out to bars or clubs, and I don’t drink. I have a few close friends that I’ve had for many years, and I’m not great at making new ones. That’s probably why I’m single. I can also wiggle my ears individually. And my tits. Snap!

You and another Project Runway alum, Mondo Guerra, partnered with Merck on

Living Positive by Design, which was about reducing HIV stigma. Has it changed? I

think stigma is changing, but really slowly.

I’m a huge believer that visibility is the best thing we can do to change public perception, but it’s often uncomfortable so people stay in the closet. Try to name 10 “famous” people who are known to be HIV-positive.

After Magic Johnson and Greg Louganis it’s pretty difficult. It’s not that they don’t exist, it’s just that they aren’t out. I know a lot of very famous people who are HIV-positive, but they won’t talk about it because they think it will ruin their careers.

Yes, that’s why coming out is so important. That’s why I do what I do, so people will

continue to see that you can be happy and healthy with HIV, so we are all honest with ourselves and each other.

As people with HIV live longer, does that change the public’s perception of either HIV or the people with it? Possibly. I think

it’s a hopeful message that you can live a long, full life with HIV. I’m hopeful that individuals with HIV will speak out in their own lives to influence the public on a very grassroots level. Honestly, for the most part, I think the general public has forgotten about HIV.

Do you think HIV-positive gay men have created community and support systems in a way that differs from their nongay peers? Yes. Let’s face it. In the

U.S. the infection rate of gay men is wildly disproportionate to any other community.

We deal with HIV issues on a fairly regular basis, even if only in conversation.

Because of that, there is a familiarity that does not exist in the heterosexual community. However, that does not necessarily translate to support. I do think the gay community is generally more supportive of those of us who are different because we can all empathize with the outcast. To anyone who needs support, it’s definitely out there, and you are certainly not alone. If you need some advice, you can just Google me. Apparently I’m the only Jack Mackenroth in the world.

What’s next for you? This year I decided to really focus my energy on HIV activism and developing Volttage into an amazing site/ app. I continue to travel around the country speaking at events and fund-raisers, which I love. I’ve been threatening to finish my book, Making Lemonaids, for years now. For now I’m just swimming, working, and husband shopping. Call me! ✜

>>> F I N D O U R C O V E R S TA R AT J a c k m a c k e n rot h . co m or T w itt e r @ j a c k m a c k e n rot h 26

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courtesy subject; getty images

so thankful that it gave me a voice to speak about living with HIV.

BILL T. JONES NEW YORK CITY

Tseng Kwong Chi)

Choreographer, Dancer, Writer, & Multimedia Artist bill t. jones has received a MacArthur Foundation “genius grant,” Tony and Obie awards, and the Kennedy Center Honors for his innovative choreography, along with many other accolades. He’s also a long-term survivor of HIV, having been diagnosed with the virus in 1985, and he’s still creating dance works that excite audiences around the world.

This spring the Bill T. Jones/Arnie Zane Dance Company, celebrating its 30th anniversary, is touring with a show called Play and Play: An Evening of Movement and Music, which includes Story, one of Jones’s first new repertory works in over a decade, and his 1989 modern-dance classic D-Man in the Waters. In January another new work, A Rite, had its world premiere at the University of North Carolina. Jones and SITI Company artistic director Anne Bogart collaborated on this piece, dealing with the impact of Igor Stravinsky’s revolutionary musical composition The Rite of Spring, which marks its 100th anniversary this year. Further performances of A Rite are scheduled at Bard College in Annandale-on-Hudson, N.Y., in July.

While the audience for modern dance may be rather specialized, Jones has proved his art has broader appeal with his work in Broadway musicals. He received the Tony Award for Best Choreography in 2007 for Spring Awakening and in 2010 for Fela! He also conceived and directed the latter show, based on the life of Nigerian Afrobeat musician and political activist Fela AnikulapoKuti, who died of AIDS complications in 1997. Fela! continues to tour this year, with Michelle Williams of Destiny’s Child in the cast; upcoming stops include Los Angeles, Dallas, Seattle, and Oakland, Calif.

Jones, who lost his partner in life and work, Arnie Zane, to AIDS in 1988, has often dealt with AIDS and other life-threatening illnesses in his dance and multimedia pieces. Still/Here, which premiered in 1994, mixes dance, song, and video to tell the stories of people dealing with serious illnesses; The New York Times called the result “a true work of art, both sensitive and original.”

Jones confronted his own mortality in his solo dance Last Night on Earth, also the title of his autobiography.

But that last night hasn’t come, and Jones is most emphatically still here and still creating. His work is “a spiritual activity” and “a worldview,” he told North Carolina’s Indy Week in an interview in connection with A Rite’s premiere. “It is a privilege,” he added, “to go into a studio every day and make something.” —Trudy Ring

Jones performing in his 1982 collaboration with artist Keith Haring

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GREG LOUGANIS LOS ANGELES

greg louganis is an actor, dancer, dog trainer, and AIDS, equality, and diversity activist, and he’s also considered the greatest diver in history. Currently a coach on ABC’s celebrity diving competition Splash, he’s also a judge for this summer’s International Red Bull Cliff Diving World Series. Louganis won his first Olympic medal at the age of 16. At 24, in the 1984 games, he became the first man in 56 years to win two Gold Medals in diving.

Four years later he became the first to win double Gold Medals for diving in two consecutive Olympics.

He’s a five-time world champion and holds 47 national championship titles.

In the mid 1990s Louganis revealed to the world that he was gay and HIV-positive, which resulted in the loss of most of his corporate sponsorships. Louganis has certainly rebounded and achieved much since then. He’s building up his acting career, having appeared onstage (in Jeffrey) and in film (D2: The Mighty Ducks), and he recently guest-starred in the Web series Old Dogs & New Tricks. —Clea Kim

getty images; courtesy subject

Olympic Diver

PETER STALEY

NEW YORK CITY

courtesy ifc films; getty images

Activist & Blogger

for peter staley, life with HIV has meant a life of activism. He was a 24-yearold Wall Street bond trader when he was diagnosed as positive in 1985. Like many people with a life-threatening condition, he found religion, only in his case it was the religion of direct action on behalf of people with HIV. In 1987 he began volunteering with ACT UP, where his advocacy

included facing off with über-homophobe Pat Buchanan on national TV, helping to shut down trading at the New York Stock Exchange, and, most memorably, organizing the installation of a giant condom over antigay senator Jesse Helms’s home.

He helped found Treatment Action Group in 1992, then launched the website AIDSmeds.com in 2000. In 2008 he sold the site to Poz magazine, the publication for which he continues to write about HIV. Staley features prominently in David France’s documentary How to Survive a Plague (pictured above), and when the film won a GLAAD Media Award in March, he reminded the ceremony’s audience that

AIDS has not gone away. “Nearly 7,000 gay men still die from AIDS in this country each year,” he said. —T.R.

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RENO, NEV. / Champion Figure Skater

val joe “rudy” galindo, three-time national champion figure skater, was inducted into the U.S. Figure Skating Hall of Fame in January. Galindo competed in pairs skating with Olympian Kristi Yamaguchi, earning the pair National Champion titles in 1989 and 1990. And in 1996, Galindo earned top honors as U.S. National Champion in men’s figure skating.

Born to Mexican-American parents in San Jose, Calif., in 1969, Galindo grew up to become the first Latino national champion in U.S. figure skating. In 1996 he became the first male champion in 30

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getty images (2)

RUDY GALINDO

any sport to come out as gay while still competing.

In 2000, after a prolonged bout with pneumonia, Galindo was diagnosed as HIV-positive. Galindo courageously shared his status with the world in an interview with USA Today just months after his diagnosis, and he continues to be an active advocate for HIV awareness.

“I didn’t want to hide this illness,” Galindo told USA Today sports reporter Christine Brennan in 2000. “I didn’t want to live a lie. I’ve always wanted to be truthful.… I know this: I’m enjoying life so much, I’ll do anything to survive.” —Sunnivie Brydum

GREG HARRIS CHICAGO

Illinois State Representative illinois state representative Greg Harris, one of only a handful of openly HIV-positive legislators ever elected in the nation, is working to make life better for HIVers and many others. He’s the chief House sponsor of the state’s pending marriage equality bill, as he was for the civil unions law that passed in 2010. As a member of the legislature since 2007, he’s advocated for better services for people living with HIV and other diseases, such as breast cancer, as well as for health care reform in general. His other priorities include addressing the state’s pension funding crisis, improving its property tax system, aiding agriculture, and providing help to homeless and at-risk young people. Before being elected to the legislature, he was chief of staff to a Chicago City Council member for 14 years. His work has brought him awards from several AIDS service organizations, other grassroots community groups, and LGBT rights advocates including the Human Rights Campaign. Harris, diagnosed as positive in 1988, says he’s seen many colleagues keep on working while coping with other serious health conditions. “I consider it important to show that this is just another disease,” he says. —T.R.

FREDY CEJA LOS ANGELES

Consultant to California State Senate Pro Tempore Darrell Steinberg fredy ceja became an HIV activist almost immediately after receiving his positive diagnosis in 2006, going to work for Bienestar, an organization that assists Latinos affected by HIV and AIDS. In 2009, Ceja was featured in the Soy/I Am video campaign, a partnership between the Kaiser Family Foundation and Univision aimed at reducing HIV stigma among Latinos and putting a face on the disease. The very busy Ceja has served on the California HIV/AIDS Planning Group, the Latino Advisory Board to the California Office of AIDS, the Los Angeles County HIV Commission, and the board of the Latino Equality Alliance, advocating for Latino LGBT rights. He developed a passion for politics on a visit to Washington, D.C., while he was in high school, and he became the first person in his family to attend college.

In addition to his HIV and LGBT rights work, he is an activist for education and many other causes. He was a senior field deputy for California Assembly member Gilbert Cedillo until Cedillo was term-limited out of office at the end of 2012. Today, Ceja is working as a consultant to California state Senate pro tempore Darrell Steinberg, and in April he was honored for his HIV work at the Latin LGBT Awards in Los Angeles. —T.R. m ay/j u n e 2 0 1 3 •

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ANDREW SULLIVAN

New York City & Provincetown, Mass. andrew sullivan seems to specialize in confounding expectations. The U.K. native first became famous in the United States in the 1990s as editor of The New Republic, and his mix of identifiers—conservative, Catholic, and gay—forced some observers to rethink long-held assumptions. He’s continued to surprise people; while he still calls himself a conservative, he also describes himself as “an enthusiastic supporter (and occasional critic)” of President Obama. He was one of the first political writers to sup-

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port Obama’s presidential aspirations, back in 2007. Among other milestones, in 1989 he wrote the first national magazine cover story endorsing marriage equality (he’s written books on this and other topics as well), and this year he formed an independent company, Dish Publishing, to publish his Web log The Dish, making it one of the few blogs to rely only on reader support. And he’s a long-term survivor of HIV; he was diagnosed positive in 1993 but remains healthy, active, and ever provocative. —T.R.

COURTESY SUBJECT

Journalist & Author

THOMAS DUANE NEW YORK CITY

Activist & Former New York State Senator when thomas duane first ran for a seat on New York’s City Council in 1991, he endured a knock-down, drag-out campaign against Liz Abzug, daughter of feminist leader Bella Abzug, during which Liz Abzug came out as a lesbian, and Duane came out as HIV-positive. Each accused the other of crass campaigning, but Duane prevailed. In 1998 he upped the ante by becoming the state’s first openly gay and openly HIV-positive state legislator. And upon his retirement from the state Senate in 2012 after 14 years of service, he was still one of very few positive lawmakers in the U.S. During his time in office, Duane worked his way up to become the ranking member of the Senate Committee on Health, where he crafted key health care policy, including far-reaching HIV testing and clean syringe-access legislation. He also wrote, introduced, and lobbied for New York’s marriage equality legislation, which prevailed after a tough fight in the Senate. While attending City Council speaker Christine Quinn’s wedding last year with his husband, Louis Webre, he realized he was ready to quit commuting between his district in Manhattan and the capitol building in Albany and decided not to seek reelection. But that didn’t mean his career as an activist was over.

“I am going to fight for people and in my own small way try to make the world a better place,” he said. “I’m never going to stop doing that.” —Michelle Garcia

DAVID STERN Los Angeles

flickr (2)

Executive Director of Frontiers Awareness and Education Foundation and Publisher of Frontiers magazine since learning he was hiv-positive in 1988, David Stern has become a force in LGBT media in Los Angeles. Realizing that advances in treatment would allow him to “live a long, fruitful life,” he launched a new LGBT publication, IN Los Angeles, with business partner Mark Hundahl in 1997. They went on to buy competing magazine Frontiers in 2007, and they merged it with IN. Five years later, as Frontiers was celebrating its 30th anniversary, Stern fulfilled a longtime dream, launching a nonprofit arm called Frontiers Awareness and Education Foundation. Its mission is “to train and nurture the next generation of LGBT journalists to understand the full range of issues and subtleties within our diverse LGBTQ community” and “to provide multiple platforms for the range of LGBTQ voices to speak for themselves, to tell their own stories.”

One of the foundation’s first projects is Diamonds in the Rough, a training, internship, and scholarship program for young LGBT people and straight allies who are interested in media careers. —Christopher Rudolph m ay/j u n e 2 0 1 3 •

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The Strange Case of Uncle Poodle The intersection between HIV and Here Comes Honey Boo Boo

By MARK S. KING

PHOTO ILLUSTRATION BY SCOT T MCPHERSON; LEE THOMPSON (UNCLE POODLE) COURTESY FACEBOOK

I

n the course of a few short months, Lee Thompson (“Uncle Poodle” to reality TV watchers) has managed to personify a variety of hot-button issues among gay men today. He has come out as gay and HIV-positive. He has sent an ex-lover to jail and sent nude pictures via Grindr.

Or not. Depending on whom you believe. Let’s break down the strange case of Uncle Poodle.

In what we can all agree was a positive development, Thompson publicly came out as gay last year and evidently has the love and support of much of his family, the colorful clan of the TLC reality show Here Comes Honey Boo Boo. He instantly became an ally and friend of gays everywhere, talking about bullying, staying strong, and being a gay redneck in the Deep South. So far, so good.

Then, in a recent interview with the Atlanta gay magazine Fenuxe, Thompson made the announcement that he tested HIVpositive in May of 2012. What was startling, though, was his explanation of his infection.

Thompson claimed not only that an ex-lover had knowingly infected him, but that the man is currently serving a five-year sentence for nondisclosure of his HIV status.

Almost immediately the details of the story were questioned (by everyone except Fenuxe magazine, which did not delve into the prosecution in the piece; the writer simply “applauded” Thompson’s bravery). Journalist Todd Heywood posed serious questions about the case, including the timeline between Thompson’s infection and the reported prosecution, which would have happened in mere months. Heywood also scoured court records from Georgia to Alabama and could find no evidence of any such case. Requests for more information from Thompson’s people have garnered no response. The defendant has never been identified.

Did Uncle Poodle lie about sending the ex-lover to jail? And why the hell would he do that?

It is my opinion that Thompson made up the prosecution story. And in doing so, he behaved in much the same way that most everyone does who tests HIV-positive these days. He looked for someone else to

blame. He played the innocent victim. He released himself from personal responsibility. (Because everybody knows that when you test HIV-positive, you don’t call your doctor to start treatment. You call the police to press charges.)

Stigma is driving these actions, of course.

People who become positive today are judged for being “bad,” for not following the rules, for failing the community, and for becoming one of the great unwashed. It makes no difference that they were simply caught being human, that they let down their guard for a moment or got drunk or didn’t care or stupidly fell in love. Their friends will furrow their brows. Their dating life will wither.

And so someone must pay for these indignities. That is one reason HIV criminalization laws have flourished—they appeal to our sense of vengeance. They are also vessels of homophobia, sexism, and racism, considering how badly the laws are applied and how often prosecutions run counter to public health or even common sense (some convictions have imposed jail time for decades even when condoms were used and no one was infected, and advocates believe people forgo HIV testing for fear of being prosecuted).

Conservative lawmakers and prosecutors— who don’t believe people with HIV should be having sex at all—are more than willing to exploit our feelings of revenge when testing positive and lock up some diseased fags.

I empathize with those who test positive today. They suddenly find themselves on my side of the viral divide, but their hearts and minds aren’t here yet. Perhaps they have unresolved issues about their becoming infected, and I can understand if they have an impulse to lash out. And I believe that Lee Thompson did exactly that when he reported sending the man who infected him to jail.

The man who no one can identify. The case that no one can locate.

Things have just gotten a little more complicated for our Uncle Poodle. Now someone who claims to have communicated with Thompson on Grindr is trying to sell naked photos that Thompson supposedly sent him (isn’t humanity grand?). Thompson being linked to Grindr—the app about which controversy recently arose when a survey indicated half of its users were

One reason hiv criminalization laws have flourished: they appeal to our sense of vengeance. they are also vessels of homophobia, sexism, and racism. engaging in bareback sex—presents a delicate situation indeed.

People living with HIV have every right to “full and satisfying sexual and emotional lives,” as the Denver Principles stated 30 years ago. [Editor’s note: The Denver Principles was a statement from an advisory committee of people with AIDS written in 1983. It’s seen as the start of the HIV/AIDS self-empowerment movement.] There is no evidence or details about Thompson’s sexual life or choices, so let’s simply hope he is conducting himself as someone with intimate knowledge of HIV nondisclosure laws, considering his contention that he sent someone to jail for withholding his status. The sword cuts both ways, and I worry for him. Lee Thompson certainly has faced his share of scrutiny, living as an HIV-positive gay man in the rural South, much less someone connected to a wildly popular reality series. But he should consider his moves, both public and private, very, very carefully. Because Americans don’t simply like to tear down celebrities or save our judgment and revenge for those with the thickest skin. As we prove time and again, we can do it to the very best of friends. ✜ King is the blogger at MyFabulousDisease.com, where this article originally appeared. m ay/j u n e 2 0 1 3 •

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COLUMNS

Gary McClain, Ph.D., is a counselor in New York City with a specialty in coping with chronic health conditions. His books include The Complete Idiot’s Guide to Breaking Bad Habits and Empowering Your Life With Joy.

Putting Disappointment Behind You Disillusionment and regret are anchors weighing good people down. Here’s how to cut them loose “i never thought this would happen to me. I didn’t think life would turn out this way. If only I hadn’t [fill in the blank].” These are words of disappointment and regret I hear from clients. I don’t know any person who doesn’t use those phrases from time to time.

Life happens, and generally not the way we planned or hoped.

Nobody knows this better than someone living with HIV. The disease can bring up all kinds of thoughts and feelings about what you thought your life would be.

Disappointment is the perception you didn’t get what you wanted and the wish that things had turned out differently. Regret is wishing you made different choices. Disappointment can leave you feeling your life is out of control. With regret, you give yourself the power, but also the blame. Either way, disappointment and regret leave you wishing your life were anything but what it is. They go hand in hand with

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anger, sadness, and guilt.

It’s important to remember that disappointment and regret are stops along the road when living with HIV, not places you want to stay. Here’s what to do when you feel disappointment and regret closing in on you: Let yourself just feel. When

phrases like “if only” and “I never thought” creep into your thoughts and speech, don’t judge yourself for not having the “right” attitude—or hold it all in and hope the disappointment or regret go away on its own. Talk with someone who won’t judge you.

Don’t avoid the “Why me?” question. Disappointment and

regret often lead to the ultimate question: “Why me?” That can be a scary question because it brings up painful feelings. Most likely, you will find the answer is that there isn’t an answer. So why keep asking, right? Well, because

it’s only human to question why and to take a look at your life and what living with HIV means. For that reason, asking “Why me?” is a milestone along the road to acceptance.

Recognize the blame game.

Disappointment usually lays the blame on something outside yourself. Regret lays the blame on your own doorstep. Either way, blame is a losing proposition, because you spin the same story over and over, trying to explain the unexplainable. In the meantime, life is happening all around you.

Think of acceptance as “Here I am. Now what can I do?” This

is going with the flow instead of struggling against the tide. Decide to focus on what’s possible in your life, beginning with what you can do right now to have a better day.

Start each day with gratitude.

One of the best antidotes to negative feelings is reminding yourself of what’s good. Focusing on the positive can “rewire” your brain to see the big picture.

Be compassionate to yourself.

Give yourself credit for having challenges and doing the best you can. Give yourself a break. And remember, you’ve got too much going on to spend time on disappointment and regret. ✜

David Bedrick, JD, Dipl. PW, is a counselor, educator, attorney, and author of Talking Back to Dr. Phil: Alternatives to Mainstream Psychology. A blogger for Psychology Today, Bedrick has also taught courses for the U.S. Navy, 3M, the American Society for Training and Development, the Process Work Institute, and other psychological groups.

It’s Not Me, It’s You

op p o si t e page: p hoto s .c om; t his page: s c ot t mcp hers on

When HIV-negative people project their fears of death onto those with HIV, it hurts everyone “do you know what it’s like to have aids?” my friend asked.

“Everyone looks at you as if you have a skull and crossbones over your head. They treat you like you’re already dead.”

Another man with AIDS I knew said he believed he dropped into a coma because he didn’t have the strength to fight people’s constant projections. “It’s hard to keep living when people insist on seeing me as dead or dying,” he said. “I’m not dead yet. I wish people would stop burying me.”

The denial of death in our culture is ever-present. People get sick but resist their own sense of frailty; people witness another’s death but deny their own mortality; people age but fight against every visible reminder. As a result, they are compelled to project death and dying onto someone else, and people with HIV become prime targets. Whether people are caring, dismissive, or contemptuous, the projector escapes the disquieting experience of seeing their own death in the mirror while forfeiting

its gifts—the way it can reorganize priorities and bring people closer to their loved ones and spirit.

Being looked on as diseased or dying saps people’s energy, devaluing the life they are living, hypnotizing them to stop living before their time. However, because this particular projection is so prevalent, it is hard for many to fight back, to defend their humanity, to remember they are full of living experiences—feelings, conversations, touches, spiritual states, not to mention loving and being loved.

But this projection doesn’t only injure those with HIV. It costs everyone. When sickness and weakness are projected onto another, our ability to be compassionate turns into pity. People become blind to how they can learn from the psychology of HIV. As a dream analyst I sometimes imagine a community of people coming to my therapy practice with the following dream: There are two groups of people. Some have a weakened immunity and are open to feeling—but defense-

less against even the mildest breeze. Others are more insensitive and try to stay away from people in the first group, not wanting to catch their illness. They ask for my interpretation and I say, “The first group needs more protection and care for their vulnerability; the second group needs more contact with life and receptivity to its pains and pleasures. In this way the community can become more healed.”

Essentially, those of us who are HIV-negative must learn from those of us with HIV. We must learn how to lower our guard. Simply put, many of us who live as if being invulnerable is the key to living a long life need to learn that being vulnerable, touched, moved, and affected is what it means to experience being alive.

I still feel close to my friend who died some 15 years ago. I can hear him speak to those who project death and sickness onto those with HIV and AIDS: “We are not dead. We are dying, but so are you. If you could be more open to your own frailty, if you were less consumed with overcoming your own insecurity, if your psychological immune system wasn’t so good at making you feel that it’s not you who’s dying, it would give many of us a bit of reprieve and you the chance to touch life more intimately and to know more of the beauty of giving and receiving love.” ✜

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YOU 2.0

Fitness

2 SIMPLE POOLSIDE EXERcISES The look-good muscles that you need to build

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he biceps and gluteus maximus are what I sometimes call “vanity” muscles. Outward appearances aside, muscles support metabolic function, a fact that cannot be overstated. But there isn’t a person I know who wouldn’t like to feel better in skinny jeans, look more toned in a T-shirt, and radiate self-confidence when either article of clothing comes off.

Bottom-up Press: This is a smart exercise for developing the shoulders.

The thick handle of the bell also engages the muscles of the hand, further strengthening the grip. How to do it: 1. Stand upright, holding a kettlebell upside down by the handle at shoulder height, with your elbow bent and your palm facing in. 2. Press the kettlebell overhead, extending your arm fully. Keep your back flat and your abdominals engaged, and the bell upside down throughout the exercise. Perform three to four sets of 12-15 repetitions.

Uni Stiff Leg Deadlift: This one works the glutes, hamstrings, and calves, with a secondary emphasis on core strength and balance.

Beginners can use body weight and move up to bells. How to do it: 1. Stand upright, feet hip width apart, with your arms by your sides. 2. Raise one leg behind you, bending the knee at a slight angle, as you lower your torso and reach toward the floor. 3.

Push off the standing foot to return to the upright position. Keep your abs engaged throughout. Perform 10-15 repetitions, then flip it and reverse it. —Sam Page

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Bottom-up press

Uni Stiff Leg Deadlift

Trainer to the stars Sam Page can be found at SamPageFitness.com or on his mobile fitness app, PocketSAM (Pocket-Sam.com).

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Booty Bounty The Real Housewives of Atlanta’s Kenya Moore is known for her nice bottom. With trainer Nikki Veal, Moore shares her built booty secrets in her DVD, Booty Boot Camp (AcaciaLifestyle.com). It offers total body sculpting workouts aimed at defining your abs (never a bad thing) and lifting and firming your butt (always a good thing). —Diane Anderson-Minshall

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Photography by BRADFORD ROGNE

Nutrition

Food for Thought Eating well is always smart, but it’s especially wise when you’re living with HIV. New York–based chef Ramon Ruiz shares one of his favorite recipes

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here’s a lot more to carrots than juicing. These orange wonders are loaded with vitamin A and contain a host of other powerful health and beauty benefits, from glowing skin and anti-aging properties to lowered risk of heart disease. Here’s my favorite edible version of this delicious crunchy vegetable.

CARROT PANCAKES

photos.com

1½ cups of your favorite flour (I use a mix of rice, oat, and almond flour) ⅓ cup and 1 teaspoon brown sugar 1 tablespoons pumpkin spice ½ cup your favorite milk (I use almond milk) 1 egg, beaten ½ cup plain yogurt (Greek yogurt has tons of health benefits) 2 cups shredded carrots 1 teaspoon vanilla extract 1 tablespoon vegetable oil 1 cup of berries Zest and juice of one lemon 1 tablespoon of honey

Wan yo ur t t o m a k e panc ev ak A dd c e n b e t t e e s r h the ba opped wal ? nu t s t t te r o t o p a f r s p r i n k le o te r s e r v ing on .

Preparation 1. In a large bowl, combine the flour, sugar, and pumpkin spice. In another bowl, mix the milk, yogurt, egg, vanilla, and oil, and then fold in the shredded carrots. Add the carrot mixture to the dry ingredients and stir to combine.

2. Heat a lightly oiled griddle or a large sauté pan on medium high. Pour 1/4 of a cup of the batter onto the griddle or pan. Cook pancakes until the edges begin to brown.

Then flip them and cook until the other side is lightly browned.

3. In a medium sauté pan, add the berries, honey, sugar, zest, and juice. Cook on medium heat until berries are soft.

4. Drizzle the pancakes with the berry compote and serve immediately. Bon appétit!

Ramon Ruiz is a New York–based private chef and the chief baker behind Gingerbirdstore Organic Bakery (with his partner, Jon Rappleye) and the chief creator of Underground Supper Club in Jersey City, N.J. Follow him at RamonRuizPersonalChef.blogspot.com. m ay/j u n e 2 0 1 3 •

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ask & t e l l

Single and Loving It

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isaraye mccoy had her breakout role as Diamond in the 1998 comedy-drama movie The Players Club. Since then the actress has shone in several other film and TV projects, including VH1’s drama series Single Ladies. Now McCoy, the former first lady of the Turks and Caicos Islands, is embarking on a mission to raise AIDS awareness as a contributing member of Break the Silence (BTSCampaign.org), a grassroots social movement that attempts to change the way America thinks about HIV. McCoy spoke to us about why she joined the campaign and why she’s proud of how Single Ladies handled the issue of safe sex. —Jase Peeples

HIV infection rates are rising in young people once again. As a mother and an HIV advocate, how do you speak to a generation that seems to have a more cavalier attitude toward the virus?

I’ll tell you one thing, it’s our fault because we’ve glamorized the way [HIV] looks, and we’ve got to take that back. We’ve got to really show young people what this disease looks like, how easily you can contract it, and how to protect yourself.

Is HIV a topic you’d like to see tackled in an episode of Single Ladies?

Oh, yes, but I will say I am happy with the way the show has responsibly covered the topic of safe sex. Just last season there was a scene where my character, Keisha, is told by her boyfriend that she’s worth waiting for if she didn’t want to have sex right away and then he dumped all these condoms in the nightstand next to her bed. After that, Keisha used the condoms to spell out something along the lines of “not yet,” and I thought that was such a great scene because it showed even though these two people were grown adults and they had been lovers in the past, they were still taking things

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slow, and when they did decide they wanted have sex it was going to be safe. I think the message that sends is huge, and I applaud the writers for the way they handled that scene.

When it comes to young people, gay teens are at an even higher risk for contracting HIV than their heterosexual counterparts, yet they’re a minority that is often overlooked when it comes to sex education in schools. How can we change that?

I think it’s changing now as more people are coming forward and being open about their sexuality. Also, it’s not like it was before—young people today are more aware of the entire spectrum of the LGBT community, and that’s a good thing, because seeing others who are like them and knowing it’s OK to be who you are means more gay youth will realize their value. That’s the first step in protecting yourself.

That’s why the work you do as an HIV advocate is so important?

Absolutely, as a celebrity I feel a responsibility to use my platform to help bring awareness to issues like this. It would be great if HIV awareness could be taught in every school, but until then we’ve got to do what we can to spread the word. Whether that means making PSAs or standing up and talking in front of a crowd, we’ve got to keep getting the information out there. Young people need to know they are worth protecting. ✜

d’andre michael

You’ve made it a personal mission to raise HIV awareness. What motivated you to raise your voice?

I have a 23-year-old daughter who is sexually active. So I worry because it seems like young people these days tend to think when they’ve had a boyfriend for longer than two months that it’s real and they’re going to live happily ever after and they can have sex without any protection. But young people need to know using a condom doesn’t mean you don’t trust your partner, it means you respect them and yourself as well.