Navigatg Prostate Cancer as a Gay Man: A Journey of Rilience, Support, and Empowerment | ZERO Prostate Cancer

Contents:

• PROSTATE CANCER GAY, BISEXUAL, AND OTHER MEN WHO HAVE SEX WH MEN: A REVIEW
• CANCER FACTS FOR GAY AND BISEXUAL MEN
• WHEN GAY MEN GET PROSTATE CANCER
• WHEN TO PROSTATE NCER, 'GAY MEN ARE ERASED,' PATIENTS SAY
• UNRSTANDG PROSTATE CANCER GAY, BISEXUAL, AND OTHER MEN WHO HAVE SEX WH MEN AND TRANSGENR WOMEN: A REVIEW OF THE LERATURE
• GAY MEN'S EXPERIENC WH PROSTATE NCER: IMPLITNS FOR FUTURE REARCH
• CANCER RISKS FOR GAY AND BISEXUAL MEN
• IN CHIGO, A NEW APPROACH TO GAY AND BISEXUAL MEN WH PROSTATE CANCER
• NAVIGATG PROSTATE CANCER AS A GAY MAN: A JOURNEY OF RILIENCE, SUPPORT, AND EMPOWERMENT
• REVIEWSEX AFTER PROSTATE CANCER GAY AND BISEXUAL MEN: A REVIEW OF THE LERATURE
• GAY MEN'S EXPERIENC OF SEXUAL CHANG AFTER PROSTATE NCER TREATMENT-A QUALATIVE STUDY SWEN
• PROSTATE CANCER SCREENG FOR GAY MEN THE UNED STAT
• SEX AFTER PROSTATE CANCER GAY AND BISEXUAL MEN: A REVIEW OF THE LERATURE

PROSTATE CANCER GAY, BISEXUAL, AND OTHER MEN WHO HAVE SEX WH MEN: A REVIEW

Koy, MD, MBA, 4 Darryl Mteldorf, MSW, MPA, 5 and William Wt, PhD6AbstractPurpose: Prostate ncer gay, bisexual, and other men who have sex wh men (GBM) is an emergg medil and public health ncern. Six future directns, to advance the study of the effects of prostate ncer GBM and to improve treatment, are words:: bisexual, ncer, gay, male, prostate, sexual rehabilatnIntroductnImprovg the health of lbian, gay, bisexual, and transgenr (LGBT) dividuals is a Healthy People 2020 goal.

CANCER FACTS FOR GAY AND BISEXUAL MEN

3 Gay, bisexual, and other men who have sex wh men (GBM) who have been diagnosed wh prostate ncer may have differential health-related qualy of life and sexual health out than heterosexual men wh prostate ncer, but existg rmatn is almost always based on small studi, clil se studi, or an anecdote. 4, 5 Until recently, there have been sufficient data on this topic, pecially postncer diagnosis, part bee, “rearch on the relatnal ntext of ncer and sexualy has tend to be heteronormative, assumg that men are long-term, monogamo heterosexual relatnships, th excludg the experienc of sgle and gay men.

WHEN GAY MEN GET PROSTATE CANCER

The search terms/statements ed were “prostatic neoplasms” or “prostate ncer” or “ncer of the prostate” or “prostatic rcoma” AND “male homosexualy” or “gay men” or “bisexual men” or “men who have sex wh men” or “bisexualy. We exclud studi whose primary foc was on heterosexual men that provid eher no or limed asssment of homosexual men and studi that equably clud other orbidi their analys (cludg other malignanci).

17, 20, 28 Wh 14 of the publitns unrtaken for a special issue one journal, 36 the edors nclu, “If prostate ncer, general, is off most people's radar screen, then gay men wh prostate ncer are a tly visible speci. 49Santillo has intified six gay “liftyle factors” that potentially uld crease the risk of prostate ncer GBM: e of ttosterone supplements and anabolic steroids, e of fasteri (Propecia) for hair loss, HIV stat and antiretroviral (ARV) treatment, a fatty diet, the effects of anal sex on prostate-specific antigen (PSA) ttg, and poor doctor–patient munitn.

In parg 341 heterosexual men wh 111 gay men, Allensworth-Davi reports gay men had worse urary and bowel functng sr, lower mascule self-teem, ls partner affectn, and more treatment regret than heterosexual However, he found no sexual differenc (possibly due to wordg differenc the sexual qutns8) major ncln of this quantative lerature review is that there are aquate studi to be nfint of fdgs, and where differenc are intified, they are based on small nvenience sampl of qutnable power and unknown generalizabily. This nclud that gay men have ltle-to-no unrstandg of the prostate or the sexual challeng associated wh prostate ncer and s treatment.

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

40 Anecdotal evince shows that GBM wh prostate ncer face unique challeng, cludg the loss of the prostate as a se for sexual pleasure receptive anal sex, 23, 77 loss of ejaculate (which thors emphasize is more central gay sex17, 32, 34), persistent rectal irratn or pa sufficient to prevent receptive anal sex, 5, 30 and erectns too weak for sertive anal sex34 (Anal peratn is timated to require 33% more rigidy than vagal peratn78). 4, 33 Distst of the medil muny5 and reluctance to disclose sexualy to provirs19, 77 are mon barriers, wh 21% of 2560 olr LGBT (aged 50–95) reportg they are not “out” to health provirs and 13% reportg homophobic re.

82 One explanatn is that “Many gay men have had bad experienc wh the healthre system and is difficult for them to be open wh their urologist about the fact that they are gay. 17 Goldstone30 scrib munitn wh one's doctor, as cril, but not his experience as a surgeon that gay men may be embarrassed to ask about sexual functn. Olr gay men wh prostate ncer may have greater difficulty disclosg their sexualy to healthre provirs and/or volvg partners than younger GBM who me out, post-Stonewall.

25 In ntrast, urologists were intified as particularly unhelpful: “The nservative hetero-normative and sometim homophobic nature of those volved the medil procs of prostate ncer rulted distrs, dissatisfactn and negative psychologil impact for participants. ”25 As one participant noted, “… we need to have urologists clued up to al wh gay men, we need unrstandg that our needs and issu are not the same as (those of) a heterosexual man.

UNRSTANDG PROSTATE CANCER GAY, BISEXUAL, AND OTHER MEN WHO HAVE SEX WH MEN AND TRANSGENR WOMEN: A REVIEW OF THE LERATURE

Dowsett35 scrib his experience this way: “All the brochur I was given by helpful nurse unsellors never mentned gay men wh prostate ncer. Inty challeng In a qualative study of 14 heterosexual men and 4 homosexual men, prostate ncer and erectile dysfunctn were intified as major threats to mascule inty. 107We found three se reports documentg effects of prostate ncer on GBM upl: one where the patient was treated wh radil prostatectomy, 31 one where both were diagnosed at about the same time and treated wh proton therapy, 19 and an exploratory study of sexual functng three gay upl, where one was treated for prostate ncer.

GAY MEN'S EXPERIENC WH PROSTATE NCER: IMPLITNS FOR FUTURE REARCH

11 The thors note that gay upl may engage novel acmodatn practic, such as change sex rol and open relatnships, which have not been noted heterosexual upl. AcknowledgmentsThis article was veloped as part of the Rtore study, a Natnal Cancer Instute-fund grant award tled, “Unrstandg the Effects of Prostate Cancer on Gay and Bisexual Men” (Grant No.

CANCER RISKS FOR GAY AND BISEXUAL MEN

The homosexualy timat are based on pooled timat om seven natnally reprentative surveys, while the uple timat are based on three olr studi. The impact of the AIDS epimic rcg the hort of olr gay men the Uned Stat by an timated 25% and the number of olr men who are not sexually active would lead this to be an overtimate; however, the broad range timat of GBM and gay male relatnships, together wh signifint unrreportg bias to socially sensive and potentially stigmatizg ems, potentially unteract this Allensworth-Davi D. : Prelimary study wh bilutami heterosexual and homosexual patients wh prostate ncer: A possible implitn of androgens male homosexual aroal.

D'Augelli AR, Grossman AH: Disclosure of sexual orientatn, victimizatn, and mental health among lbian, gay and bisexual olr adults.

Fear of discrimatn: Some gay and bisexual men don’t tell their health re provirs about their sexual orientatn, bee they worry about discrimatn affectg the qualy of health re they receive.

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

Though the ter landspe has changed sce his diagnosis 2003, Rose's experience is still reprentative of the lack of awarens and rearch surroundg how prostate ncer may affect gay men differently than straight men. Much of the fundg for rearchg diseas that may affect gay men has been funneled toward HIV; and some of the gay men who may have gotten prostate ncer – which is more mon wh age – died of AIDS and therefore are theoretilly missg om the data, says Simon Rosser, a profsor and director of the HIV/STI Interventn and Preventn Studi at the Universy of Mnota School of Public Health. Sce more gay and bisexual men are htg high-risk ag for prostate ncer the days, he says, "'s gog to bee a bigger issue for gay and bisexual men the next , and no doc on the pla n practice evince-based medice" sce there is no strong evince base.

NAVIGATG PROSTATE CANCER AS A GAY MAN: A JOURNEY OF RILIENCE, SUPPORT, AND EMPOWERMENT

Not that there's been an easy way to study the populatn; surveillance data ncer rearch isn't typilly nducted by sexual orientatn, adds Rosser, who's recg participants for the first treatment study on gay and bisexual men wh prostate ncer. It don't matter if you're gay or straight, " says Michael Hoyt, an associate psychology profsor at Hunter College New York whose rearch based on a small foc group of gay prostate ncer survivors will soon be published.

" Other Battl Some Gay Men Wh Prostate Cancer FaceWhile gay men seem to have about the same rat of prostate ncer as men general – makg the most diagnosed ncer among all men, acrdg to the Centers for Disease Control and Preventn – a review nducted by Rosser and lleagu suggts that gay survivors have poorer sexual functng and lower qualy of life. For one, some gay men Hoyt's foc group reported strs around disclosg their sexual orientatn to their health provirs, while others worked wh clicians who didn't know and didn't ask.

REVIEWSEX AFTER PROSTATE CANCER GAY AND BISEXUAL MEN: A REVIEW OF THE LERATURE

But for many gay men, workg wh a provir who knows and honors their sexual orientatn is important part bee more often than straight men, "sex, at some pot has been a cril part of their personal story, " Hoyt one participant his study, for example, who felt that his provirs' failure to acknowledge his sexualy was a blow to who he was as a person – and a patient. "Havg to fight battl and then havg a sexual self that you’ve fought for" should be acknowledged, he told the rearch a practil, medil standpot, too, unrstandg a patient's sexualy is important bee while all prostate ncer survivors have some sexual si effects om treatment, ankly, gay sex is different om straight sex – and treatment optns should be discsed acrdgly.

For example, erectile dysfunctn is a mon si effect of both radiatn and surgery to treat prostrate ncer – and n affect gay men's sex liv differently sce "they need firmer erectns for peratn" than they'd need for vagal terurse, Wtmann says. " But support om the gay muny is cril for men wh prostate ncer, pecially nsirg some of them have been rejected by their own fay members or geographic muni for their sexual orientatn, Hoyt and others have reported.

GAY MEN'S EXPERIENC OF SEXUAL CHANG AFTER PROSTATE NCER TREATMENT-A QUALATIVE STUDY SWEN

For Rose, who joed a maly gay nng club a few years after his surgery, havg people his life who listened to and supported him throughout the journey has been key to his well-beg.

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.

PROSTATE CANCER SCREENG FOR GAY MEN THE UNED STAT

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. “I’ve been a gay activist — and been out — so long that I took for granted I uld talk openly to my doctors, ” he told NBC News.

SEX AFTER PROSTATE CANCER GAY AND BISEXUAL MEN: A REVIEW OF THE LERATURE

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. "A NEGLECTED AREA"It’s impossible to know how many gay men have been diagnosed prostate ncer, bee qutns about sexualy are rarely clud rearch studi.