More Cancer For Gay Men

Gay men are almost twice as likely as straight men to report having had cancer, a new study reveals.

The study of more than 120,000 people found that gay men weren’t only more likely to have cancer, but they would also be diagnosed about a decade earlier.

Jason Warriner, Clinical Director for HIV and sexual health at the Terrence Higgins Trust said:

• We know that HIV can cause certain types of cancer, and that gay men are at a greater risk of HIV than straight men. Another factor potentially having an impact is Human Papilloma Virus [sic], which can lead to anal cancer in gay men.    

  The government currently runs a national vaccination programme for young girls, but we think recent figures on oral and anal cancers justify taking another look at whether the programme should be extended to include boys.

While there were no results suggesting lesbian women were more likely to have cancer than their straight sisters, they did have poorer health after recovering from cancer.

But is this increased risk of cancer inherently or biologically linked to homo/bisexuality? Have we reason to panic?

Boston University School of Public Health researcher, Ulrike Boehmer, doesn’t think so.

She said the underlying reasons for the higher rates were complicated, and could be attributed to a number of factors such as; access to care, support from others, other diseases and lifestlye. Another possibility is that more gay men are surviving cancer to tell the tale.

Whichever way you look at it this study serves as a reminder of just how deeply one’s sexual orientation affects us in today’s society.

While it is very sad news that many gay men are suffering from cancer, and many lesbians suffering after it, perhaps this research will act as a catalyst for pre-emptive measures and specialized support for such people. Hopefully this research will determine whether or not the increased risk of cancer for gay men can be prevented, and get us well on the way to doing so.

Contact the author here: brianna@morningquickie.com