Cancer and HIV/AIDS are both treatable but incurable diseases, yet somehow society has given them two very different connotations. It is not the fault of the man with lung cancer that he got cancer. He smoked for 40 years and knew the risks but it's not his fault. If there is blame to assign, place it on the unfinished pack of cigarettes on the nightstand. This man's illness is an unfortunate accident. The woman in the room next to him, however, became ill. He knew the risks and had sex anyway. That bitch has slept with three men her whole life! The third is the one who took her out. He knew he was HIV positive but denied it. He didn't want to admit it to his girlfriend of 6 months, he was too embarrassed. Innocent until proven guilty, he thought, well now they're both marked by the beast. It's his fault he didn't know. This was the attitude originally associated with the HIV/AIDS epidemic. There was no compassion for the victims because they didn't deserve it. Even children born with the disease were looked down upon; it was their parents' fault and, therefore, it was their fault. Fortunately, much of this speculation has changed over the years in America and other developed nations. On the other hand, there are still poor countries unaware of the reality of this disease. In continents like Africa, countries not only lack resources, but also education on how to deal with this pandemic, largely due to a lack of communication and understanding. This virus not only poses a direct threat to infected people, but also has an emotional impact, especially when they are constantly victims of a disease that is beyond their control. The fact of the matter is that “st… middle of paper… Edgar, Mary Anne Fitzpatrick, and Vicki S. Freimuth. Hillsdale: Lawrence Erlbaum Associates, 1992. 147-72. Print.Oppong, Joseph R. and Ezekiel Kalipeni. “Chapter 3: Perceptions and Misperceptions of AIDS in Africa.” HIV and AIDS in Africa: beyond epidemiology. Ed. Ezekiel Kalipeni, Susan Craddock, Joseph R. Oppong and Jayati Ghosh. Malden: Blackwell, 2004. 47-57. Print.Poku, Nana K. AIDS in Africa: how the poor die. Malden: Polity, 2005. Print. Rankin, William W., Sean Brennan, Ellen Schell, Jones Laviwa, and Sally H. Rankin. “The stigma of being HIV positive in Africa.” Medicine PLOS. PLOS, July 19, 2005. Web. November 19, 2013. Schoepf, Brooke G. “Chapter 1: AIDS, History, and Struggles Over Meaning.” HIV and AIDS in Africa: beyond epidemiology. Ed. Ezekiel Kalipeni, Susan Craddok, Joseph R. Oppong and Jayati Ghosh. Malden: Blackwell, 2004. 15-28. Press.