What POZ Staffers Told Oprah About HIV

[Guest guest]

POZ and AIDSmeds Thursday, October 26, 2006 What POZ

Staffers Told Oprah About HIV October 26, 2006—Today Oprah talked with POZ editor in chief Regan Hofmann and POZ community outreach coordinator Marvelyn Brown (among others) about life with HIV-and about American women's lack of awareness that they, too, are at risk of infection. After informing viewers that AIDS is the number one cause of death in young black women, Oprah turned to her panel of positive female guests to ask what they thought of the virus before their diagnosis. The near unanimous response: That I would never get it. Marvelyn told Oprah that she didn't even know what HIV was before getting it at age 19, thinking whatever those letters stood for it had nothing to do with her. In fact, she said all anyone in Nashville ever talked to her about was pregnancy. Regan said that before her diagnosis a decade ago, she didn't know any openly

positive heterosexual women and never thought she, a non-intravenous drug user, could get HIV. But added that since her 1996 diagnosis she has taken over 48,000 pills. Hear what it was like to be on Oprah in blog entries by Regan and Marvelyn. For the full story and more information please visit www.poz.com TjInSan

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