A Toronto man could become the 1st Canadian cured of HIV thanks to rare bone marrow treatment | CBC News

"“I used to spend every night sitting on someone's bed watching them die,” she said, recalling the palpable sense of fear in the hospital. “Having to tell patients they were dying — to tell their parents they would lose their child — almost made her give up on medicine,” she said. Instead, she's now at the forefront of new treatment and research as the director of the HIV/AIDS clinic at Toronto General Hospital, where one of her patients is in remission and on track to become the first Canadian to be cured of HIV."

"Known as the Toronto patient, the 62-year-old man was diagnosed with HIV in 1999 and started antiretroviral therapy to suppress his virus levels. In 2021, he developed life-threatening blood cancer that required chemotherapy and a bone marrow transplant making him a rare candidate for an expensive and risky treatment that is considered to have cured between five and 10 others worldwide of HIV. Though it's hailed as a significant treatment advancement, the perfect storm of circumstances that must collide to qualify for it make it something that will benefit only a few."

"“But this case, and those like it, have sparked hope that it could be the catalyst from which a broader cure can be created.” For the Toronto patient, it meant not only has he survived this cancer, but now he appears to have eradicated his HIV, Walmsley said. He stopped taking antiretroviral therapy in 2025 and as of April 2026, his H"

In the early HIV/AIDS epidemic, fear and frequent deaths shaped medical training and patient care. Dr. Sharon Walmsley now leads the HIV/AIDS clinic at Toronto General Hospital and treats a patient who was diagnosed with HIV in 1999 and started antiretroviral therapy. In 2021, the patient developed life-threatening blood cancer requiring chemotherapy and a bone marrow transplant. The transplant is a rare, expensive, and risky approach that has cured only a small number of people worldwide, typically when specific genetic conditions and donor availability align. After stopping antiretroviral therapy in 2025, the patient’s HIV appears eradicated as of April 2026, offering hope for broader cure strategies.

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