Sunday, February 7, 2021, is the annual observance of National Black HIV/AIDS Awareness Day (NBHAAD). The Strategic Leadership Council is the community group that sets the direction for NBHAAD. This year’s observance comes at a time of renewed concern and action for health equity and inclusion across the nation.

We’ve put together a list of resources from HIV.gov and our federal partners to help you get involved with NBHAAD and spread the word.

Where to Go

Our NBHAAD Awareness Day page has resources such as the NBHAAD logo, fact sheets, and other materials from the community and across the U.S. Government. We feature the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention’s (CDC) NBHAAD digital toolkit and their Let’s Stop HIV Together campaign resources that you can use and share. We’ll also add registration details for some upcoming webinars hosted by the HHS Office of Infectious Disease and HIV/AIDS Policy (OIDP) and CDC that anyone can join.

We encourage you to stay tuned for the Strategic Leadership Council’s communications about this year’s observance. And be sure not to miss the Ending the HIV Epidemic: A Plan for America (EHE) initiative quarterly stakeholder webinar on January 27, which will provide updates on major federal activities related to EHE implementation and highlight ways to improve HIV diagnosis, care and prevention outcomes for Black women. Register here  to join.

What to Know

Given the disproportionate impact of HIV on Black communities, we encourage you to learn what’s happening with EHE implementation. This data-driven, locally-implemented effort continues its important work to reduce new HIV infections even as our nation’s response to the COVID-19 pandemic proceeds.

PrEP is an important HIV prevention tool and the Ready Set PrEP program may be right for you or eligible individuals with whom you work. Please share information about the HIV Services Locator, where individuals can find PrEP providers in their local area.

HIV self-testing is a key strategy to improve testing uptake and increase diagnoses, particularly in these times when face-to-face testing services have been disrupted. Find information about self-testing on HIV.gov. Please use and share the Locator to find testing services nearby. (Be sure to call ahead to inquire about the availability of self-testing.)

HIV treatment helps people with HIV stay healthy and live longer. There is also a major prevention benefit: people with HIV who take HIV medicine daily as prescribed and get and keep an undetectable viral load have effectively no risk of sexually transmitting HIV to an HIV-negative partner. Please share information about the importance of getting and staying on HIV treatment.

For more information, we provide basic HIV facts about HIV prevention, diagnosis, and treatment. Know the facts and spread the word (along with your encouragement and support) with friends and family members who have not been tested for HIV, might be at risk, or are living with HIV.

How to Share

The hashtag for NBHAAD 2021 is #NBHAAD. Let your voice be heard by using the hashtag on your social media.

The following channels are part of the conversation, give them a follow, like or share:

• Facebook: HIVgov , CDC HIV , and Start Talking Stop HIV 
• Twitter: @HIVGov , @CDC_HIV/AIDS , @DrMerminCDC 
• Instagram: @HIVgov , @stophivtogether , @starttalkinghiv 

Find Out More

We’ll be posting content on our blog and on our social media channels throughout NBHAAD. Want to make sure you don’t miss out on the latest HIV resources, policies, and programs? Sign up to receive email updates.

The post How to Share the News about National Black HIV/AIDS Awareness Day appeared first on MyMedicPlus.

Two-time survivor, current patient talk about cancer experiences

While most people will relate 2020 with COVID-19, Kelly Harrell will remember it for an entirely different disease.

Harrell, 31, was diagnosed in March with breast cancer.

“During spring break a change in my right breast was really bothering me,” she said.

She didn’t think it was anything serious enough to see the doctor for, but her husband and mother insisted. So, she called her OB/GYN.

“She saw me the next day and that same day she wanted me to get a mammogram,” Harrell said.

She said she could tell by the small talk the technician made that something was wrong.

“I knew something was there when the ultrasound tech asked me if cancer runs in my family,” she said.

Three days later she had a biopsy and that confirmed two spots in her breast and a third in the lymph nodes under her arm. It was an invasive ductal carcinoma, a kind that can spread rapidly.

“It was scary at first,” she said.

On April 6 she had her first oncology appointment at The University of Texas MD Anderson Cancer Treatment Center. By April 13 was beginning her first round of chemotherapy treatments – a 20-week process. She was given Adriamycin, also known as Red Devil medicine. It made her sick and her hair fell out.

Although the treatment was rough, it worked.

“They were very pleased that it was shrinking,” she said.

For her second round of chemo, Harrell was given Taxol. They had to stop it a short time later when she developed neuropathy in her feet.

“They moved my surgery up to Sept. 4. I had a double mastectomy,” she said.

On Oct. 12 Harrell underwent the knife again.

“They took some stomach fat and reconstructed my breasts … and I got a tummy tuck,” she said by phone while recovering in her room at MD Anderson.

There are several types of breast cancer and they affect women (and some men) differently.

Noah Hankins of San Felipe has battled it twice. She was first diagnosed in 2005 while she was working as a teacher’s aide at O’Bryant Intermediate School in Bellville. She had surgery and six months of chemo, all while continuing to work. She had the dreaded Red Devil medication and went bald.

“I never wore a wig. I didn’t feel comfortable wearing a wig,” she said.

Hankins was cancer free for 13 years.

“On Good Friday in 2018 I found a lump. I had cancer again, this time in the opposite breast,” she said.

This time she underwent six weeks of radiation treatment.

“Radiation was very tough on me,” she said.

She had surgery again. This time they removed the other breast, five lymph nodes, and the implant she had from her first bout with cancer.

“They took the implant out because it had an infection in it,” she said.

This time she opted not to have new implants or reconstructive surgery.

“I’m cancer free and I’m feeling good,” she said.

She isn’t the only one in her family to be a double cancer survivor. Her husband Terry had hairy cell leukemia in 1999 and in 2010 had prostate cancer. He said it was harder helping his wife go through her cancers than his own.

“It was a rough road, very trying at times,” he said.

Hankins had her treatment at Houston Methodist West Hospital in Katy. She praised her doctors and everyone who helped her through it.

“You just put your faith in the Lord and he helped us through it, made us stronger,” Terry Hankins said.

Noah Hankins said the toughest part for her was telling their four children about her cancer.

“It was hard to see my kids,” she said. “I’m supposed to be the strong one.”

Their children are adults now. The youngest was in college when Noah had her first bout with cancer.

One of the unfortunate side effects of her treatment was damage in her eye due to the chemo. Unknown to her at the time, she had an eye infection. As a result, she can only see half an image out of one eye.

The couple, who attend Trinity Lutheran Church, relied on their faith and the prayers and support of family and friends to get them through. Even her doctors prayed with her before surgery.

“God doesn’t give it to you, he’s just seeing how you’ll handle it and grow,” Noah Hankins said.

Faith also played a major role in Kelly Harrell’s recovery.

“My children were praying that mommy’s treatments would go well,” Harrell said.

She said a lot of people were praying for her and offering support to her family. She had help from the school where she works as well as her church, Hope City in Houston.

“There was an amazing outpouring of love that has blown me away,” she said.

Her husband Chase and children Hunter and Hailey have been her biggest supporters. He mother retired a couple months earlier than planned so she could help out at home.

Harrell is a third grade teacher at Sealy Elementary School and plans to return to the classroom in January. She said she was “super quarantined” at home during the summer but feels safe returning to the school despite the COVID-19 pandemic.

“We will have masks and face shields … I’m not worried about it,” she said.

Both Harrell and Hankins are doing what they can to help others. Hankins does breast cancer walks and often talks with women going through treatment. Harrell said she is trying to “pay it forward for other people as well.”

“Our emphasis is on the positive,” she said.

The post Women share their breast cancer journeys appeared first on MyMedicPlus.