Virus Hunting: Tracking Cancer and AIDS- Final Entry

Once again, I was a little behind in my posts due to computer complications, and I am catching up.
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In reading this book, I have learned so much more than I knew previously about the ways viruses function.
I really enjoyed reading about cancer and AIDS from the different perspectives that the book offered. I was able to learn for medical doctors, biologists, chemists, patients, and from public opinion.
Now, to return to the things I wanted to focus on at the end of my last entry, and learn more about as I finished the book.

There are many experiments being done to progress the treatments for AIDS and cancer. Experiments combining chemo and radiation treatments in order to more efficiantly battle cancer are being performed in many research labs.
Combinations of differents medications, creating a sort of medication cocktail are being used to treat AIDS, in the hopes that with the combination of meds, once AIDS is able to resist one medication, the other will start working. Of course, eventually, over time, AIDS will be able to withstand the cocktails as a whole.
Other tactics are being used, such as taking patients off of medication all together and waiting for the virus to morph back into it's original form, and then suprising it with a sudden rush of medication which kills more AIDS cells, because the AIDS is vulnerable for a longer amount of time, before it can work up an antigen for the medication.

Still, many scientists say that the best chance for survival is leading a healthy lifestyle and trying not to expose yourself to the things that are directly linked to causes more serious types of cancer and AIDS.
A vast majority of the different types of cancer and easier treatable and many still are curable.
One of the most common, more serious cancers is lung cancer, which is currently without a cure.
It is very rare to contract lung cancer if you do not have a smoking habit.

Scientists recommend a cigarette free lifestyle.

AIDS, as I am sure many of you know, is an STD, a sexually transmitted virus. That is one of the things that I find so tragic about the AIDS epidemic. It is SO easy to avoid contracting it. USE PROTECTION! IT'S NOT HARD! And take the time to get your partner tested, if you can. It is also very rare that a person contracts AIDS if he or she practises safe sex.
AIDS can only be contract by transaction of fluids. Some other ways to contract AIDS (when it is not "sexaully" transmitted) are:

-If someone with AIDS somehow manages to press thier open wound to your open wound (which is unlikely to happen...).
-If your parent was HIV/AIDS positive, it is possible for that to be passed on to the child (but there are many ways to prevent that today.).

I really enjoyed reading this book, and I recommend it to anyone and everyone.

(NOTE: Once again, I was unable to spell check my post...I apologize for any errors.)