Woman of the Month: Loreen Willenberg, Advocate for HIV Clinical Trials
Woman of the Month is supported by exclusive advertising from Gilead.
Overheard in the Women's Forum
"I am a 38 year old woman, straight and divorced. I was in a relationship with a man for four years and had grown to trust him. I was shocked the day I found out that he had given me an STD. I remember hearing how upset he was and then calming him down by saying, "Don't worry, it could have been so much worse." That was about two months before my [HIV] diagnosis. It took me almost a month to get rid of the STD. Still, my doctor never advised me to take an HIV test and of course it never occurred to me either. I was not in a high risk category—at least that is what I mistakenly told myself. Then one day I was shopping with my 18 year old daughter and in the check-out line I passed out. I was admitted [to the hospital, and seven days later] my test results came back positive. I know that my story is not so unusual, but I don't think I have met enough people to know that for sure."
