How Living with HIV Changed After Learning He Was ‘Undetectable’

published on August 7, 2019 by Brian Mastroianni, in healthline

In 2012, Bruce Richman received news about his health that would set him on an unexpected path.

His doctor explained to him that he was “undetectable,” meaning that by adhering to his HIV antiretroviral therapy, the viral load in his blood was so low that it could no longer be detected.

This was a game changer for him. The news meant that Richman, who first found out he had HIV in 2003, would be unable to pass the virus on to any sexual partner.

“I found out nine years after my diagnosis that I can’t transmit the disease. My doctor told me and, here I am, a privileged white guy with a support system. I’m privileged with this information, and I started looking around and saw that nothing confirmed it was true,” Richman told Healthline. “I started doing research. There was no information out there to the general public that was clear and inclusive and accepted that this was true.”

Richman’s realization that this information, which could benefit thousands upon thousands of people living with HIV, rested mainly within medical circles — accessible to those with connections and privilege — awakened something within him.

The birth of #UequalsU

A Harvard-educated lawyer, Richman had already been working with brands and celebrities to market socially driven awareness campaigns in the past.

View the full article >>

Tags:

Treatment as Prevention®

BC Centre for Excellence in HIV/AIDS

Search form

How Living with HIV Changed After Learning He Was ‘Undetectable’

Search form