i started treatment at beginning of dec 2002 as i was diagnosed with ks. doc said lesions may disappear with use of antiretroviral treatment but didnt say how soon. also said i may need chemo or radiation therapy if hiv treatment doesn't clear ks. what chemo drugs am i likely to be put on and for how long before ks clears and will it come back after treatment.

The pharmaceutical industry has made great strides in terms of coming up with more effective and less toxic chemotherapy for KS. If the HIV drugs don't take care of the KS (and often they do not), then I usually start with liposomal chemotherapy. When chemotherapy is administered in a liposomal formulation, it is much better tolerated than the equivalent chemotherapy not in liposomes. The two most common forms of liposomal chemotherapy are Doxil (also known as Caelyx) and DaunoXome. In the unusual cases, when these agents don't work, then the next drug would be Taxol (also known as paclitaxel). Lastly if there are a few troublesome lesions, and chemotherapy is not warranted, then there is a topical gel called Panretin gel which can cause the lesions to shrink. The bottom line is that there are many good options to get your KS under control. Not to fret.