30th January 2008, 01:54 pm
And the Oscar goes to….., well not yet, but we are rooting for Freeheld: The Laurel Hester Story, a documentary film about Police Lt. Laurel Hester, her death from cancer and the Ocean County officials who did not want to give Hester’s partner, Stacie Andree, death benefits. The second LGBT cancer survivor film to get press, along with, The Guitar. Great to see two LGBT cancer survivor films making the headlines….let’s all go to the movies and see them.
21st January 2008, 11:25 am
There’s a new smoke ending program at Howard Brown center in Chicago. According to the National LGBT Tobacco Control Network, queer people are 50 to 200 percent more likely to be addicted to smoking than other groups (depending on the group). This is also true among youth populations, who are up to 16 percent more likely to light up than their straight counterparts. The American Cancer Society estimates that more than 30,000 self-identified LGBT people die each year from tobacco-related diseases (or between 80 to 85 people every day).
Kristin Torres, project manager at Howard Brown, says that “ internalized homophobia and homophobia from other groups making us feel isolated. Folks have really internalized that and turned it into habits that are bad for their bodies.” Torres also says that marginalized people often pick up habits that make them look tougher.
17th January 2008, 05:23 pm
A new, highly drug-resistant strain of the “flesh-eating” MRSA bacteria is being spread among gay men in San Francisco and Boston, researchers reported on Monday.
In a study published online by the journal Annals of Internal Medicine, the bacteria seemed to be spread most easily through anal intercourse but also through casual skin-to-skin contact and touching contaminated surfaces.
The infection can cause unusually severe problems, including abscesses and skin ulcers. The bacteria can invade through the skin to produce necrotizing fasciitis, giving them the popular name of flesh-eating bacteria. They can also cause pneumonia, damage the heart and produce widespread infection through the blood.
The San Francisco researchers suggested that scrubbing with soap and water might be the most effective way to stop skin-to-skin transmission, particularly after sexual activities.
Though this isn’t a cancer story, we thought it is important for this message to get out.
12th January 2008, 10:15 am
A new movie, “The Guitar, ” shows one of the few queer film characters to also be diagnosed with cancer. Told she only has months to live, Mel (Boston Legal’s Saffron Burrows) maxes out her credit cards and pursues her wildest fantasies — including a steamy fling with a pizza delivery girl played by Paz de la Huerta. This is the directing debut of Amy Redford. And, its hard not to mention that her dad is Robert Redford.
8th January 2008, 07:55 am
Cancer patients and their doctors are not speaking on the same level. Oncologists encountered few empathic opportunities and responded with empathic statements infrequently. Empathic responses were more prevalent among younger oncologists and among those who were self-rated as socioemotional. To reduce patient anxiety and increase patient satisfaction and adherence, oncologists may need training to encourage patients to express emotions and to respond empathically to patients’ emotions. (Journal of Clinical Oncology, Vol 25, No 36 (December 20), 2007: pp. 5748-5752 ) Malecare’s LGBT cancer project addresses deficiencies in oncologists empathy and understanding of the impact of cancer on individual LGBT patients.
2nd January 2008, 11:17 am
According to the Centers for Disease Control ( CDC ) , cigarette companies need to find replacements for the 1,200 dead consumers and 3,500 who quit each year. As a result, tobacco companies have focused their advertising efforts on minority groups, including, most notably, the gay community. Kristen Torres of the Bitch to Quit lesbian cessation program ( of the Lesbian Community Care Project ) finds it hard not to notice issues behind gays smoking. The correlation is hard to miss, Torres points out, with data stating that the LGBT community smokes at a rate of 40 percent, as compared to the general population’s 20 percent.
In Illinois, the gay population of smokers goes up, since a 2004 CDC survey on smoking prevalence revealed 22.2 percent of men and women in Illinois smoke, as compared to California’s rate of 14.8 percent. Chicago’s Howard Brown Health Center reports that 17 percent of the overall male population smokes while 27 percent of gay men smoke do.
Not only do 80 to 90 percent of smokers take their first drag before age 20, but the National Lesbian Survey points out that lesbians smoke more as they age, whereas the general populace of women smoke less as it becomes older. And with tobacco’s new stratagem of selective advertising techniques that promote gay-friendly events and venues, underage smoking is occurring in greater numbers.
Bob Gordon of San Francisco’s Last Drag program cannot help but notice the correlation between smoking and the problems gays face self-identifying. The largest percentage problem, and possibly the problem itself, involves self-identifying 18-24-year-olds perpetuating their outcast image. Torres hypothesized, “when you’re a gay youth, you already feel like an outsider. … Smoking makes you look and feel tough, but also reaffirms the idea of being an outsider .” http://www.windycitymediagroup.com/gay/lesbian/news/ARTICLE.php?AID=17069
