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

Contents:

• WHEN TO PROSTATE NCER, 'GAY MEN ARE ERASED,' PATIENTS SAY
• PROSTATE CANCER GAY, BISEXUAL, AND OTHER MEN WHO HAVE SEX WH MEN: A REVIEW
• CANCER FACTS FOR GAY AND BISEXUAL MEN
• GAY AND BISEXUAL MEN WH PROSTATE CANCER HAVE UNIQUE NEEDS
• “ULTIMATELY, YOU REALIZE YOU’RE ON YOUR OWN”: THE IMPACT OF PROSTATE CANCER ON GAY AND BISEXUAL MEN COUPL
• GAY AND BISEXUAL MEN'S UROLOGY

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

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.

”As a rult, Margoli add, many lbian, gay, bisexual and transgenr patients go back the closet when they beg ncer treatment.

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

“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.

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.

“Too often gay men are erased the [support] groups. They don’t want to hear other men be vulnerable, and they don’t want to hear about gay sex. “If 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 said.

CANCER FACTS FOR GAY AND BISEXUAL MEN

”That disfort n spread to gay patients. "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. “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. ”But wasn’t stutnalized homophobia, Rosser strsed.

” For gay men, so long ignored by medice, Rosser believ those rat are much higher.

GAY AND BISEXUAL MEN WH PROSTATE CANCER HAVE UNIQUE NEEDS

”Rosser said the silence and shame surroundg the topic allows ugly myths to flourish — like that gay sex somehow “ed” their ncer. “Gay men have a lot to offer the subject of 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. ”It stole a generatn, but the AIDS epimic also tght gay men how to fight disease, how to ask qutns and how to mand better treatment. And, I thk, as gay men, we brg a ep feelg of passn, empathy and humor.

“ULTIMATELY, YOU REALIZE YOU’RE ON YOUR OWN”: THE IMPACT OF PROSTATE CANCER ON GAY AND BISEXUAL MEN COUPL

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. 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.

GAY AND BISEXUAL MEN'S UROLOGY

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. 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. Case and media reports intify homophobia as an addnal barrier to digal rectal examatns as part of prostate ncer screeng.