When to prostate ncer, 'gay men are erased,' patients say

Contents:

• BEG GAY UROLOGY: BALANCG MY INTY
• IN CHIGO, A NEW APPROACH TO GAY AND BISEXUAL MEN WH PROSTATE CANCER
• WHEN TO PROSTATE NCER, 'GAY MEN ARE ERASED,' PATIENTS SAY
• DR. MATTHEW R. GAY
• MATTHEW R GAY, M.D.
• GAY AND BISEXUAL MEN'S UROLOGY
• THE EXPERIENC OF GAY AND BISEXUAL MEN POST-PROSTATE CANCER TREATMENT: A META-SYNTHIS OF QUALATIVE STUDI

BEG GAY UROLOGY: BALANCG MY INTY

If you are lbian, gay, bisexual, transgenr, queer, and/or intify as a sexual and/or genr mory and are lookg for LGBTQ+ affirmg doctors, physicians, clicians, and healthre provirs, you have e to the right place. Even though is 2021, and beg gay is more accepted today than has ever been the past, n still be nerve-wrackg when cidg whether, when, and how to e out to lleagu or mentors. This is, unfortunately, not an irratnal fear; once, a patient told me they would rather see one of my partners bee they found my profile on a social media platform on which I am open and vol about beg gay.

More than one study has documented that physicians who intify as LGBTQ+ or otherwise as a Sexual or Genr Mory (SGM) have experienced mistreatment or discrimatn om mentors, lleagu and, I have been enterg a fascatg new phase of my life and reer, where I am learng to merge my inti as a gay man and a urologist, and I uld not be happier about .

Our patients have appreciated havg surgeons who are part of the same LGBTQ+ muny (my partner this enavour, a plastic surgeon who started the programme at our hospal, is also gay) — surgeons who, although we are not trans ourselv, at least have some mon ground.

IN CHIGO, A NEW APPROACH TO GAY AND BISEXUAL MEN WH PROSTATE CANCER

Through this mentorg, I have been dog my bt to improve LGBTQ+ reprentatn urology both passively by beg an out gay man amic medice and actively by unsellg and speakg to medil stunts. Curt, 66, diagnosis and surgery were only the begng of a “clil and psychologil and emotnal adventure” — one he felt that many urologists were not equipped to handle, bee he was gay and the majory of doctors and their patients were symptoms are siar for all prostate ncer patients, cludg urary ntence, erectile dysfunctn, dimished libido and loss of ejaculate. But rearchers are fdg that those chang may echo through the liv of gay and bisexual men unexpected, and sometim more difficult, obstacl n be physil and emotnal, and may be reflected patients’ relatnships wh their partners.

WHEN TO PROSTATE NCER, 'GAY MEN ARE ERASED,' PATIENTS SAY

Amarasekera, who has foced his reer on urologic re for gay and bisexual men and other sexual mori, is the program’s first is an emergg field of study driven part by the creasg number of prostate ncer patients who intify as gay or bisexual.

V., and young gay men, bee that was the biggt killer, ” said Simon Rosser, a profsor of epimlogy and muny health at the Universy of Mnota, who led a study 2017 of gay and bisexual men wh prostate ncer. “It’s important to llect data on how treatment affects sexual functn differently for gay and bisexual men, who have different sexual repertoir than straight men, ” he said.

DR. MATTHEW R. GAY

Amarasekera se at the program’s two clics — one downtown Chigo and the other the historilly gay Northalsted neighborhood — are unprepared to face yet another health crisis. “Partial erectile dysfunctn has a particular impact” on gay patients, she said, and they “report signifintly greater ncern about loss of ejaculate than heterosexual men.

MATTHEW R GAY, M.D.

Amarasekera “nsired my whole person, and my whole personhood enpassed my beg gay, ” he ia also spired Perry McKay, a Chigo philanthropist whose donatn helped get the Northwtern program off the ground.

“This is an opportuny to munite, tra and te urologists on how to provi better re tailored to the specific needs of gay and bisexual men, ” he Rosser agreed. But the unique challeng facg gay and bisexual men wh prostate ncer have largely gone who have sex wh men (MSM) are ls likely to get regular prostate ncer screengs, and those who are diagnosed are ls likely to have faial and social support, acrdg to rearch ced by the Natnal Instut of Health. And if their health re provir is not culturally petent, gay and bisexual men are much ls likely to unrstand how treatment will impact their qualy of life.

GAY AND BISEXUAL MEN'S UROLOGY

Brass’ said his sexual functn was relatively good, but stead he stggled wh ntence for weeks — g as many as ne “pads” a day and stayg wh yards of a bathroom at all you’re gay and you go to a urologist who hasn’t alt wh gay men, they’ll tell you, 'Brg your wife wh you. '"He joed a prostate ncer support group specifilly for gay and bisexual men at Mount Sai Hospal Manhattan, one of several anized by the natnal advocy anizatn wh other queer men “allowed to be very open about our feelgs — and our sexualy — and to be empathetic wh each other, ” Brass said. “The medil muny say, ‘We don’t want to ask olr heterosexual men qutns that might upset them, ’" Simon Rosser, an LGBTQ health specialist and -thor of "Gay and Bisexual Men Livg Wh Prostate Cancer, " told NBC Rosser, PhD, MPH, is a profsor at the Universy of Mnota School of Public Health.

Universy of MnotaA profsor at the Universy of Mnota School of Public Health, Rosser has received a $3 ln grant om the Natnal Cancer Instute to put together the first prehensive rehabilatn program specifilly for gay and bisexual men wh prostate ncer.

And we have studi that show out are different for gay men: We have worse mental health, we have greater urary problems, but our sexual out are reliably better. Gettg the disease, ironilly, is somethg of a luxury for a gay men of Brass’ age: Too many had their liv cut short by the AIDS epimic long before they’d typilly be diagnosed (the average age for a prostate ncer diagnosis is 66) the advent of lifavg antiretroviral dgs the mid-1990s, though, gay men are fally reachg their goln years. Gay and Bisexual male urology patients face var barriers to qualy healthre, rangg om heteronormative clil attus, a pcy of knowledge on urologic health out and lack of tst.

THE EXPERIENC OF GAY AND BISEXUAL MEN POST-PROSTATE CANCER TREATMENT: A META-SYNTHIS OF QUALATIVE STUDI

The Gay and Bisexual Men's Urology Program striv to improve urologic re for gay and bisexual men through patient re, tn, rearch, muny engagement and advocy. Led by Channa Amarasekera, MD, the Northwtern Medice Gay and Bisexual Men’s Urology program was created to improve the urologic re experience, out and qualy of life for patients who were assigned male at birth (AMAB) and intify as gay or bisexual. The first of s kd the Uned Stat, we veloped this program after our rearch showed that there were unmet needs among gay, bisexual, transgenr and other sexual mory patients.

He shar his published study asssg areas of sexual functn predicted to be important after treatment and what other urologists need to know about when rg for gay and bisexual patients wh prostate ncer. In this vio, Channa Amarasekera, MD, talks about his recent study examg urologists’ knowledge and attus toward patients sexual mori and how the Northwtern Medice Gay and Bisexual Men’s Urology Program is workg to rce the dispari and improve gay and bisexual men’s urologic health.

Adam Murphy, Assistant Profsor of Urology and Preventive Medice (Cancer Epimlogy and Preventn), host a groundbreakg webar that highlights the unique challeng faced by gay and bisexual men when to prostate ncer.