Actor Charlie Sheen announced that he is HIV positive. He made the announcement on the Today Show on NBC and also issued an open letter about his HIV diagnosis.
Sheen said that he was being extorted for millions of dollars. He went public to put a stop to what he called a smear campaign.
HIV (human immunodeficiency virus) is the virus that causes AIDS, or acquired immunodeficiency syndrome. At one time, being diagnosed with AIDS meant that you were going to die of AIDS. The disease still has no cure, but it can be kept in check with antiviral medications. It is now a chronic disease and not a death sentence. People with HIV like Sheen must take their antiviral medications for the rest of their lives.
Sheen said that he was diagnosed about 4 years ago, he said, and added that he does not know how he contracted the virus. He insists that he has not knowingly transmitted the virus to anyone else, but admits to having had unprotected sex with two people since his diagnosis. Those two people were informed of his HIV status in advance and have been under the care of his doctor, Dr. Robert Huizinga, an associate professor of clinical medicine at the University of California, Los Angeles. Sheen has said that he has not engaged in other activities at high risk for transmitting the virus, such as sharing intravenous needles.
Dr. Huizinga went on the Today Show with Sheen to discuss his treatment. Sheen has had public battles with substance abuse problems and depression. Dr. Huizinga said that Sheen's main battle will not be related to HIV, but will be to keep from relapsing into his other problems.
Charlie Sheen comes from an acting family. He is the son of actor Martin Sheen and the brother of Emilio Estevez. He has starred in movies such as "Wall Street" and "Major League," and the sitcom "Two and a Half Men." Production on that show was temporarily halted when Sheen had a public melt-down and his character was written out of the show.
