Adam castillejo gay
Cancer Health Diary: A Double Cure
Paul Edmonds, 68, of Desert Hot Springs, California, is one of only five people who have been cured of HIV after stem cell transplants to manage blood cancer. The donors had a rare genetic mutation, known as CCR5-delta32, that prevents the virus from entering cells. This procedure is too risky for most people living with HIV who don’t contain cancer and are doing well on antiretroviral treatment, but the handful of functional cures present clues about more widely applicable approaches.
September 1988
I was diagnosed with HIV in San Francisco at age 33, before effective antiretroviral treatment. My CD4 T-cell count was below 100, sense I had AIDS. It was very scary and stigmatizing. At the period, most people were living no longer than two years after diagnosis. There were many nights of marches and protests to become the government to do something. I tried almost every drug that came out, including AZT, but the side effects were awful. I felt sick most of the time. I began painting—it served as a form of escapism. I focused onsurvival and not giving up.
Mid-1990s
I started on combination antiretroviral therapy when
Second patient cured of HIV, say doctors
Health editor, BBC News online
A man from London has become the second person in the world to be cured of HIV, doctors state.
Adam Castillejo is still free of the virus more than 30 months after stopping anti-retroviral therapy.
He was not cured by the HIV drugs, however, but by a stem-cell treatment he received for a cancer he also had, the Lancet HIV journal reports.
The donors of those stem cells have an uncommon gene that gives them, and now Mr Castillejo, protection against HIV.
In 2011, Timothy Brown, the "Berlin Patient" became the first person reported as cured of HIV, three and half years after having similar treatment.
What is the treatment?
Stem-cell transplants appear to stop the virus being able to replicate inside the body by replacing the patient's own immune cells with donor ones that resist HIV infection.
Adam Castillejo - the now 40-year-old "London Patient" who has decided to go common with his identity - has no detectable active HIV infection in his blood, semen or tissues, his doctors say.
It is n
Last year we learnt how Nelson Mandela spoke out on behalf of vulnerable people, including people living with HIV and AIDS throughout his life. Today we are very satisfied to introduce Adam Castillejo, a true Ambassador of Hope for people living with HIV and AIDS.
On a beautiful summer date in London in June 2022, Adam spoke to Stories of Hope, and we are very pleased to share this interview today.
So, Adam, accompanying tradition, we ask every Hero of Hope “who are you?”
Since I entered in the public spotlight in 2020 as ‘Adam – The London Patient’, the second person cured of HIV, a lot of people have indeed asked me “who am I?” Well, I am just Adam Castillejo, a British Venezuelan man who happened to be extremely fortunate to have been looked after by the National Health Service (NHS) in UK. They supported me to be cured from two deadly diseases: Firstly, from an offensive Stage IV cancer and secondly from incurable HIV/ AIDS.
I am a bone marrow transplant survivor and have undergone highly complex and risky stem cell transplantation to achieve remission in both cancer and HIV. While many people will have heard about my medical story in the news
"I remember all the people who died with HIV, they’re always in my heart and I desire to be their voice".
This week we welcome Adam Castillejo, The London Patient - the second person in the world to be cured of HIV.
This episode was recorded in accordance with government social distancing measures.
In a truly inspiring, life-affirming interview, Adam opens up about his extraordinary journey and his mission to be a voice of hope for millions - from existence diagnosed with HIV at 23 years old, to his fight against both HIV and cancer & his battle to overcome both illnesses, which stunned the world. Trigger warning: Contains upsetting audio.
The London Patient: A Cure For HIV? is a two-part series - funded by the Wellcome Trust and the British Podcast Awards Fund. What does the London Patient’s story tell us about a cure for HIV? Plus amongst a backdrop of Covid19, can the story of HIV and AIDS offer the world any hope?
The most recent estimate suggests that there are currently around 7,500 undiagnosed HIV+ people living in the U.K. If you are HIV+ and on effective treatment, you can’t pass it on. Undetectable = Untransmittable. Get tested for HIV now, stop the spread. In