succumb to,stuck,bite the bullet

[Anonymous]

Please kindly expound the red highlights in this context . thanks all !

Better anti-retroviral drugs saved Stephan's life. These days, he adds many HIV-positive Americans survive long enough to succumb to "normal" diseases of aging.

"We're now seeing a lot of HIV-positive people become victims of heart disease and, you know, the standard things that any person could get," he said.

Statia, 21, knows about those side effects as well, because she's been HIV-positive since the age of 15. Statia has spoken at many public education forums, "In the long run, it's worth it, because after all those feelings are over and that person's gone away, you're stuck, and you've got to live with it, and that's reality," she said.

There are a number of reasons these people don't know their status. Requesting an HIV test can be intimidating, and AIDS educator Stephan observes that there's a high level of denial among people who choose risky behaviors. But Statia says it's better to "bite the bullet."

"It's just, a matter of actually taking the incentive and doing it, knowing what the consequences can be long and short term, and you're better off knowing than not," said Statia.

 

[RonBee]

Better anti-retroviral drugs saved Stephan's life. These days, he adds many HIV-positive Americans survive long enough to succumb to "normal" diseases of aging.
--->They die. That's what "succumb to" means in that sentence.

"We're now seeing a lot of HIV-positive people become victims of heart disease and, you know, the standard things that any person could get," he said.
---->The phrase refers to typical diseases as opposed to atypical diseases.

Statia, 21, knows about those side effects as well, because she's been HIV-positive since the age of 15. Statia has spoken at many public education forums, "In the long run, it's worth it, because after all those feelings are over and that person's gone away, you're stuck, and you've got to live with it, and that's reality," she said.
--->The phrase "you're stuck" means that you can't do anything about it.

Requesting an HIV test can be intimidating,
--->The word "intimidate" means "to make timid"; something that is intimidating is scary.

But Statia says it's better to "bite the bullet."
--->To bite the bullet is to do something you don't want to do but you do it anyway. You don't want to do it, but it is necessary, so you steel yourself and do it anyhow. The expression dates back to the American Civil War era when soldiers being operated on were given a bullet to bite. (There was no anesthetic.)

"It's just, a matter of actually taking the incentive and doing it, knowing what the consequences can be long and short term, and you're better off knowing than not," said Statia.
--->It is better that you know than that you not know.