25 faces: Leaders fighting HIV/AIDS in Colorado

20 Diana Cable

For nearly 20 years, Diana Cable has with HIV/AIDS through the Colorado AIDS Project. As an avid volunteer at the Colorado AIDS Walk and working on various CAP committees, Cable has seen a lot of new developments through the years.

“So much has changed,” she said. “Prior to the antiretroviral medications coming on the scene, many HIV-positive individuals fought their medical battle with few to no options in medications. Where we are at today is that many can carry on a long and productive life being HIV-positive with the help of a variety of medications they and their doctor can agree on using.”

Cable is also the Coordinator at the Denver Food Bank, and for her, a life of service makes sense. Through her work, she confesses to learning the importance of the connections she’s made.

“I realized a couple of things that I carry with me all the time, now,” she said. “First, it is not worth holding a grudge for any reason. I am very close to a client with whom I have had numerous occasions where we ‘butt heads.’ But after a period of dealing with a life threatening illness, we are able to laugh often when we see each other at the food bank. A mutual respect has grown out of this and all because the past is left in the past. I treat everyone this way.”

Cable hopes to see even better outreach in the future – for her, there’s a long way to go.

“It still bothers me that this disease is controllable through behavior change and we are still seeing young people getting infected through carelessness and in some cases because it is not talked about with them,” she said. “People with HIV/AIDS are people first and deserve the best from all of us in our interactions as we provide services during times of need.”