World AIDS Day

World AIDS Day is rec­og­nized each year on Decem­ber 1. The recog­ni­tion offers an oppor­tu­ni­ty for peo­ple world­wide to unite in the fight against HIV, show sup­port for those liv­ing with HIV/AIDS, and to com­mem­o­rate those who have died.

Dr. Hala Saad is an Infec­tious Dis­ease physi­cian with Quin­cy Med­ical Group (QMG). She said World AIDS Day is impor­tant to increase aware­ness of HIV and AIDS.

“We have so many peo­ple liv­ing with HIV. A lot of them are undi­ag­nosed and a lot of them are not under­go­ing treat­ment. We need to over­come the stig­ma that comes with this diag­no­sis. In our mod­ern days, HIV is a dis­ease that you live with. Unfor­tu­nate­ly, we don’t have a cure for it right now, but we can def­i­nite­ly help you get it under con­trol,” Dr. Saad shared.

Effec­tive treat­ment is impor­tant. She adds that just like any oth­er per­son liv­ing with a chron­ic con­di­tion, such as dia­betes or high blood pres­sure, peo­ple liv­ing with HIV can live full, hap­py lives. QMG recent­ly added a new treat­ment option for HIV called Cabe­nu­va. This med­ica­tion is admin­is­tered via IV injec­tions every 2 months, instead of dai­ly oral medication.

“Peo­ple liv­ing with HIV should be able to have careers, have fam­i­lies, have chil­dren, and live their lives nor­mal­ly, hap­pi­ly, and suc­cess­ful­ly with­out any restric­tions. This is what we do here in our clin­ic and help peo­ple achieve those goals.”

Dr. Saad spe­cial­izes in Infec­tious Dis­ease which includes the treat­ment of HIV and AIDS. She and her nurse, Jill Haubrich, RN, are here to sup­port patients and help them receive prop­er care. Receiv­ing treat­ment ear­ly will help with the long-term man­age­ment of the disease.

“We do some­thing called rapid start, it was proven in the lit­er­a­ture that if you start treat­ment for HIV the minute you diag­nose it, patients do bet­ter. I real­ly encour­age any­one liv­ing with HIV or diag­nosed with HIV, to speak with the health depart­ment, their pri­ma­ry care provider, or our Infec­tious Dis­ease depart­ment here at Quin­cy Med­ical Group.”

To learn more about ser­vices here at Quin­cy Med­ical Group, vis­it https://​quin​cymed​group​.com/​m​e​d​i​c​a​l​-​s​e​r​v​i​c​e​s​/​i​n​f​e​c​t​i​o​u​s​-​d​i​s​ease/.