Mike Hellman, local author, HIV activist and advocate and Allies’ 2025 Kerry Stoner Award recipient, has been living with HIV for 40 years.
“Early on it was a death sentence, and then new medications came about, and while it wasn't the complete answer, we made progress,” he said.
Now, people like Hellman and the doctors who treat people with HIV are seeing something that they couldn’t have dreamed of 40 years ago – aging with HIV.
“I think this is the big deal in the HIV field,” said Dr. Sarah McBeth, medical director at Allies for Health + Wellbeing. “More people are living longer with HIV, which is wonderful, but aging has its drawbacks as far as how people feel and their health problems. There are a lot of chronic medical conditions that occur both more frequently and at earlier ages with people with HIV than the regular population.”
McBeth noted that people who are aging with HIV may experience kidney issues, hypertension and increased rates of cancer.
Hellman’s personal experience echoes McBeth’s observations.
“As I've gotten older, all those other aging issues have come into play on top of HIV,” he said. “That gets harder to manage both together - those comorbidities. It's just every new incident, every new action plays a bigger part in our everyday living and quality of life.”
It’s important for people living with HIV to stay on top of their overall health as they get older.
“Preventative healthcare is really important, and that includes cancer screening, getting vaccinated and good heart health,” said McBeth, adding that diet, exercise and vaccines are also key to healthy aging.
Hellman said that he keeps his HIV diagnosis at the forefront as he manages his health and encourages others living with HIV to do the same.
“You really have to keep everything in motion, making sure everything's working for you and advocating for your own health,” he said. “If it isn't working, change it.”
He also said that doctors in other fields may not know how HIV interacts with their areas of expertise.
“You have to continue to teach them about how HIV has affected you because they don't know,” he said. “You can't assume they have other patients [with HIV]. You have to teach them what it's meant for you. That's a big deal in moving forward in aging. Don't presume someone else knows what you've been through. Don't be complacent. Somebody's not going to do it for you.”
Each year, National Aging with HIV Day is marked on Sept. 18 to recognize the unique health and social needs of people growing older with HIV. If you're aging with HIV and looking for holistic care that sees you as a whole person, Allies for Health + Wellbeing offers specialized HIV care as well as primary care. Give us a call at 412-345-7456 or visit AlliesPGH.org(opens in a new tab) to make an appointment.
