Please Note: Due to volume considerations, not all questions can be answered. Questions most likely to be answered will be those of general interest to a broad group of visitors to this forum. Questions pertaining to a specific case; requests for diagnosis, medical advice, or second opinion; or requests for opinions about untested alternative therapies will generally not be answered.
Ask the Experts about AIDS-Related Cancers
I have lymphoma, do I also have HIV?
Apr 20, 2003
I'm 20, female, heterosexual. I'm a lymphoma patient but I'm worried that I might be Positive from my past unprotected sex. I got myself tested 2 and half month after my last unprotected sexual encounter. i know it was way too early to tell, I was negative.
I was sent to the ER once when my physican found a mass at my lung from the x-ray. Apparently it was lymphoma. Do you think they got me tested for HIV in the ER? it was 4 and half month after the sex.
last question! I've had a bone marrow biopsy and lymph node biopsy a while ago. If I were Positive, would the doctors be able to tell? they said my bone marrow looks fine...
please give me sosme answers~!THANK YOU VERY MUCH!!!!
Response from Dr. Dezube
You ask a very important and also a common question. Specifically you are already in the health care system with lymphoma, and your question is, with all the doctors you are seeing along the way, would the doctors be able to tell if you are HIV positive.
The real answer to your question is NO. Many patients feel that since they are seen by health care provider after health care provider, that someone must have checked them out for HIV. Often health care providers are so focussed on the specific problem at hand, e.g. curing the lymphoma, that the HIV gets untested. I would suggest that you get HIV tested up to 6 months after you last unsafe sex exposure. If that test is negative, then in all likelihood, your cancer is not related to the HIV.
Please remember that this forum is designed for educational purposes only, and experts are not engaged through this
forum in rendering legal or medical advice or professional services. Experts appearing on this page are independent and are solely responsible
for editing and fact-checking their material. Neither The Body nor any sponsor is the publisher or speaker of posted visitors' questions or the experts' material.
Questions and messages posted to this forum are not statements of advice, opinion, or information of The Body, Body Health Resources Corporation or any sponsor of this
forum. While neither The Body nor Body Health Resources Corporation regularly reviews posted content, we reserve the right to delete, move, or
edit postings if we deem it appropriate under the circumstances. Visitors submitting questions remain solely responsible for the content of their
messages.
Information provided by experts is general only and should not be used for diagnosing or treating a health problem or a disease, or relied upon as
legal or other professional advice. This information is not a substitute for professional advice or care. If you have or suspect you may have a
health or legal problem, you should consult your own health care provider or your attorney.
