Rearch suggts that some gay and bisexual men may face a number of barriers to gettg the health re and ncer screeng tts they need. Learn what you need to know about ncer risk and preventn.
Contents:
- WHEN TO PROSTATE NCER, 'GAY MEN ARE ERASED,' PATIENTS SAY
- IN CHIGO, A NEW APPROACH TO GAY AND BISEXUAL MEN WH PROSTATE CANCER
- PROSTATE CANCER GAY, BISEXUAL, AND OTHER MEN WHO HAVE SEX WH MEN: A REVIEW
- WHEN GAY MEN GET PROSTATE CANCER
- CANCER FACTS FOR GAY AND BISEXUAL MEN
- REVIEWSEX AFTER PROSTATE CANCER GAY AND BISEXUAL MEN: A REVIEW OF THE LERATURE
- GAY AND BISEXUAL MEN'S UROLOGY PROGRAM
- GAY MEN'S EXPERIENC WH PROSTATE NCER: IMPLITNS FOR FUTURE REARCH
- CANCER RISKS FOR GAY AND BISEXUAL MEN
WHEN TO PROSTATE NCER, 'GAY MEN ARE ERASED,' PATIENTS SAY
Once laser-foced on HIV/AIDS, the gay muny is now addrsg one of the perils of gettg olr. * gay men with prostate cancer *
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.
IN CHIGO, A NEW APPROACH TO GAY AND BISEXUAL MEN WH PROSTATE CANCER
Rat of prostate ncer are largely the same among gays and others, but sexual functng issu and qualy of life brg different ncerns. * gay men with prostate cancer *
“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.
“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.
"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.
PROSTATE CANCER GAY, BISEXUAL, AND OTHER MEN WHO HAVE SEX WH MEN: A REVIEW
* gay men with prostate cancer *
“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.
”Rosser said the silence and shame surroundg the topic allows ugly myths to flourish — like that gay sex somehow “ed” their 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.
WHEN GAY MEN GET PROSTATE CANCER
The Northwtern Medice Gay and Bisexual Men’s Urology Program is signed to liver better urologic re for patients who were assigned male at birth and intify as gay or bisexual. * gay men with prostate cancer *
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.
CANCER FACTS FOR GAY AND BISEXUAL MEN
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. 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.
”The gay and bisexual men their 50s and 60s who are now enterg the prime mographic for prostate ncer also lived through the worst of the AIDS epimic.
REVIEWSEX AFTER PROSTATE CANCER GAY AND BISEXUAL MEN: A REVIEW OF THE LERATURE
Amarasekera problem, experts the field say, is that the rearch about gay and bisexual men and prostate ncer is still woefully aquate.
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 only now that as the AIDS generatn grew olr, and aged to health problems like prostate ncer, that specialists are startg to see gay patients. Amarasekera studied urologists’ trag and found that many reported receivg ls than five hours of stctn on the treatment of gay and bisexual patients.
GAY AND BISEXUAL MEN'S UROLOGY PROGRAM
He also surveyed gay patients, who overall said their sexual satisfactn was not aquately taken unr nsiratn durg treatment for 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.
GAY MEN'S EXPERIENC WH PROSTATE NCER: IMPLITNS FOR FUTURE REARCH
“If you lack the tools to measure aspects of sexual functn that are specific to gay and bisexual men, you lose an opportuny to track their progrs.
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. ”The health re system, he said, “margaliz gay men, particularly when to sexual health, and the prostate is so lked to sexual health gay men. It’s jt that many urologists don’t realize that the prostate is “kd of a male ‘G spot, ’” and gay men more often are aware of .
”Jane Ussher, a profsor at the Wtern Sydney Universy School of Medice Atralia, has been studyg the effects of ncer gay men for 20 years. “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. 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.
CANCER RISKS FOR GAY AND BISEXUAL MEN
“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. ”Gene Otto, who is the -host of a support group Palm Sprgs, Calif., for gay and bisexual men wh prostate ncer, se a growg need as well.
Amarasekera said his experience wh the program “go a long way to addrs the mistst that many gay men feel toward medil stutns. ’”A versn of this article appears prt on, Sectn D, Page 1 of the New York edn wh the headle: Prostate Cancer and New Care for Gay Men. 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.