We talked to the experts on HIV and AIDS, at leading research institutions such as the University of North Carolina and Duke University, and we also went to the state's HIV/STD Prevention and Care Branch, international research organizations, and community-based agencies across North Carolina to learn how the disease affects North Carolinians.

For black women, the rate is 12 times higher than for white women. Guilford County outreach worker Lloyd Mickens says a lack of empowerment is part of the reason why.

The actual numbers are still relatively small," says Williams. "The disturbing trend is that we're seeing an increase every year. And it's not going to be long before that increase, really, unfortunately, I think will start to take off."

But talk is not enough to stop the disease from spreading, because doctors say the new age of HIV/AIDS has seen a rapid rise in new cases among college students in North Carolina. Jonathan Perry is one of the people infected.

Statistics show about 25-percent of the state's HIV and AIDS cases are in rural areas, and researchers say people there face a special set of challenges, the biggest being stigma and discrimination.

So where does the money come from? And is it enough, especially when it comes to buying life-prolonging medications? Doctors say for many patients, a combination of three medicines, the so-called drug cocktail, is their best bet for fighting HIV. But the drugs are expensive-at least 12 thousand dollars a year, which puts them out of reach of many of the people who need them the most.

Help for people with HIV/AIDS is also coming in the form of rapid scientific advances, new frontiers of medicine for a new age of the disease.

Gerrod Henderson wasn't so lucky. He contracted HIV at birth from his mother.

The tide began turning in 1987 when the food and drug administration approved AZT, the first aids drug. Now there are more than 20 medicines to treat HIV,

We've shown you how far they've come and how much work is still to do. You've met the people who live each day with the disease and its physical and emotional effects. But behind each of those people is a story, sometimes of struggle and sadness, but also of encouragement and inspiration.