TEAM ARE is at Jiffy Lube Live getting ready to see our favorite bass player, Chuck Panozzo!

We’ll let you know how it went!!..It’s hard to hear with the crowd getting all excited for a great nights show……

Tom (styx) Thayer & Team ARE

(pic courtesy from Chuck’s webpage by J. Powell)

http://chuckpanozzosplace.com/

We’ll get to see our friend, Chuck Panozzo (bass player & founding member) who has been kind to ARE.  If you ever get a chance, you should buy & read his book “The Grand Illusion: Love, Lies, and My Life with Styx” by Chuck (Shameless promo for him!) about his struggle with HIV/AIDS and triumphs along the journey.

We’ll ‘hopefully’ try our best to see him briefly and get a few pictures for our ARE fans & supporters.  We love him, he’s such a great kind man and also the other guys as well…

Team ARE & Tom (styx) Thayer

Thanks again from our hearts to Chuck!!

Team ARE

Our agency would like to honor all nurses during National Nurses Week.  For all their dedication and hard work taking care of people in need during times of crisis we salute you.

And to the HIV/AIDS Nurses who are trained to provide care for patients infected with HIV/AIDS. These nurses help patients cope with and manage the different emotional and physical symptoms that come with having the disease. Many HIV/AIDS Nurses work in community or public health, educating at risk groups about safe sex and the dangers of sharing needles.  We work beside a number of them and thank them on behalf of all our clients.

Team ARE

Chuck Panozzo (STYX, founding member & bass player) signing autographs during his visit to Winchester, VA and our agency.

He’s the greatest! Looking forward to tonights show.

Team ARE 

Right now, approximately 25% of all individuals with HIV/AIDS are older than 50, but because of certain attitudes and lack of knowledge about the disease, it is expected that this number could skyrocket soon. I know you don’t want to think about your parents or grand-parents in sexual relationships.  Heaven forbid them from enjoying life…lol…but face facts people: HIV doesn’t discriminate against age as well. 

A recent study by the National AIDS Behavioral Survey found that more than 85% of the people 50+ do not use a condom. The survey also revealed that 90% of them had never had an HIV test done. These findings were compared with gay and bisexual men over the age 50+ who have a test rate greater than 60% and a condom use rate of approximately 91%. Roughly 52% of all gay men use condoms regularly, which is far higher than heterosexual men. You can blink now.

Because of the increasing incidence of HIV disease in people older than 50, the Centers for Disease Control has recently reset their guidelines for HIV testing. It is now suggested that routine HIV testing begin in all persons at age 13 and continue up to age 65.

When an older patient receives an AIDS diagnosis, it tends to be more advanced than when we see it in a younger individual. Also, elderly individuals with AIDS tend to have complications much earlier than other groups. Later diagnosis in an elderly individual also is associated with shorter survival. So no matter what age you are, if you’re in the dating world, get tested.  Call us or see your family physician. Be safe.

Tom Thayer

info; http://www.montgomeryadvertiser.com/article/20120515/LIFESTYLE/305150005/Dr-Jefferson-Underwood-III-HIV-AIDS-expected-rise-older-age-group?odyssey=tab%7Ctopnews%7Ctext%7CFrontpage

The Parsons Foundation, created by Renee and Bob Parsons – founder and Executive Chairman of GoDaddy.com, will donate a combined amount of $5 million to the Southwest Center for HIV/AIDS.  The first $3.5 million will go to the construction of the center and provide support for prevention, wellness, community outreach and testing programs, while the other $1.5 million is part of an incentive donation.

The Parsons are now challenging others to match their donations so that more can benefit from their project.

“Bob and I hope others will be inspired to help the Southwest Center for HIV/AIDS,” Renee Parsons said. “This center is a first of its kind because it brings domestic violence counseling and other emotional support together with medical aid all under one roof. Patients at our new center are going to get some of the best care available anywhere in the U.S.”

The Parsons Foundation Center for Health, Education and Wellness will be created at 1101 N. Central Ave., in the building that formerly housed the Phoenix NBC TV affiliate, KPNX. The new facility is expected to be completed by the end of 2012 and will include a comprehensive medical center, mental health counseling rooms, as well as classrooms where community-based health workshops and support groups will meet needs of men, women, youth and families. Its good to see large organizations give back to charities that are local to their area.
Tom Thayer

info: http://siliconangle.com/blog/2012/05/15/go-daddys-latest-rebranding-effort-5m-donation-to-hivaids-center/

“It means beating it, arming ourselves with knowledge; it means coming together. I think it means loving; I think it means self-respect,” says Tamara Taylor is defining what the slogan “Greater Than AIDS” means to her. “I remember the first time I was made aware of the disease: I was in my teens, and all you heard was it was this big, bad, scary thing that you’d hope you never, ever have to deal with.

Taylor works with “Greater Than AIDS”, a movement that responds to the AIDS crisis in the United States, in particular the severe and disproportionate epidemic among Black Americans. Through a national media campaign and community outreach, Greater Than AIDS aims to elevate the public’s knowledge and understanding of HIV/AIDS and confront the stigma surrounding the disease.

“It’s a whole lot easier to bury your head in the sand and pretend things aren’t happening,” says Taylor. “It’s the path of least resistance. But unfortunately it’s not the way to end this epidemic.” Like so many other actors and actresses we honor Tamara Taylor for her work. The more everyone talks, the more the public will listen.  

Tom Thayer

info: http://www.greaterthan.org/about/

http://blackaids.org/index.php?option=com_content&view=article&id=1201:tamara-taylor-actor-activist&catid=87:news-2011&Itemid=55

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Tamara_Taylor

In a paper published May 15 in the Journal of the American College of Cardiology, Zian H. Tseng, M.D &  Priscilla Hsue, M.D.and other researchers conducted a retrospective study of 2,860 HIV patients from April 2000 to August 2009 at SFGH’s Ward 86, the first HIV/AIDS-specialized clinic, to comprehensively characterize all deaths. They studied medical records, death certificates, paramedic reports, and interviews with family members, doctors, and other clinicians.

During that period, 8% died during an average of 3.7 years of follow up. Cardiac-related deaths accounted for 15% of overall mortality. Of that group, 86% died of sudden cardiac death. Wow, now that is a high percentage. Researchers believe HIV changes the electrophysiology of the heart in a way so pronounced that it causes conduction abnormalities. And many HIV medications can throw off the heart’s electrical cycle, which increases the risk of sudden death. These and other variables could be contributing factors.

“Acknowledging the limitations of a retrospective analysis, what’s interesting about this study is that it opens up many related questions we can ask in future studies, such as which high-risk patients might benefit from defibrillator implantation?” Tseng said. Always keep up with regularly scheduled check ups with your physician.

Tom Thayer

info: http://health.universityofcalifornia.edu/2012/05/14/are-people-with-hivaids-more-prone-to-sudden-cardiac-death/