Haven’t posted anything in ages as I have spent much of the last few months working (with others) on ways to provide more information on Male Cancers to gay and bisexual men so this is the reason for the update now.
In our lives we are all going to be affected by cancer, no
escape, no special privileges. Please don’t think Cancer only happens as we get
older .All of us have been saddened by the death of Stephen Sutton recently whose story taught us
that cancer can happen to anyone at any age.
Cancer affects everyone but as a gay or bisexual man, cancer is going to affect you statistically more than HIV, we just don’t know how to talk about it.
I’ve spoken previously about Prostate Cancer and thankfully there are a lot more out gay men speaking up now. Please take a look at this fantastic piece from Nick Wright of Prostate Cancer UK about Jim Peter’s blog: ‘No, not all men affected by prostate cancer are straight and no, my wife will not be picking me up after treatment’.
The wider issue remains the distinct lack of understanding that some of us just aren’t heterosexual no matter how hard we’ve tried to be (Ok, perhaps we haven’t really tried that hard).
Recently I’ve been hearing encouraging news from organisations such as Beating Bowel Cancer and Cancer Research UK about how they too would like to improve information for gay and bisexual men just as Prostate Cancer have done.
Because there is a distinct shortage of information related to cancer and men who have sex with men the Health & Wellbeing Service from Manchester Mental Health and SocialCare Trust (NHS) in partnership with The Lesbian & Gay Foundation have funded a brand new resource for gay and bisexual men that will be out in mid-August 2014.
So things are starting to happen, and not before time.
Community surveys suggest that gay men in general drink and
smoke more than straight men, putting us at greater risk of developing health
problems.
This means that there is a need for us to become more aware
of our risks of health issues such as cancer, and be more open about discussing
our sexual orientation with health professionals.A gay and bisexual man’s introduction to Male Cancers will cover: Sex, Sexual Health, HIV& Cancer ,Anal Cancer, Bowel Cancer, Male Breast Cancer ,Prostate Cancer, Penile Cancer & Testicular Cancer and includes men’s voices and useful contacts to further information and support.
So what can we all do today?
Be informed. Lung cancer is the most common cause of cancer deaths in males accounting for almost one in four of all male cancer deaths. The next most common causes of cancer death in men are prostate and bowel cancers. These three cancers - lung, prostate and bowel - together account for almost half of all male cancer deaths. Bladder, kidney and stomach cancers are also among the top ten most common causes of cancer deaths in males.
So please if you are reading this, don’t be frightened, be informed. Make sure you look after your health, cut down the fags, go easy on the booze, exercise more and eat healthier and get to know more about what cancer is and how it affects us all. Look out for any changes in your body and speak to your GP.
Oh and follow these organisations too:
