While AIDS is thought by most people to be a universally fatal disease, this has not been established. The amount of time from the diagnosis of AIDS until death varies dramatically. Some people have lived as long as 13 years with a diagnosis of AIDS while others have succumbed rapidly to a serious illness.
Men seem to survive longer than women.
Those with an initial manifestation of Kaposi's tend to live significantly longer than those who first present with other types of illnesses, such as toxoplasmosis, that are commonly fatal.