Anal CANCER

[Guest taylorsquare]

I see the tragic news of Actress Farrah Fawcett ,Charlies Angels ,on tonights news now dying of anal cancer.

 

Dont get this confused with bowel cancer,in which you hopefully are screened for every 5 years.

 

Whilst i havent done much research on anal cancer,high risk groups are gay men,whom i presume are bottoms.

Being a bottom myself,this does concern me.

However i think its good Farrah Fawcett has come out to expose this type of cancer publicly,she deserves praise.

 

Without doing any research,i imagine anal warts could turn cancerous,something i have seen many barboys have.and dont get treated.

[Guest MonkeySee]

Whilst i havent done much research on anal cancer,high risk groups are gay men,whom i presume are bottoms.

 

According to the American Cancer Society, here are some of risk factors for anal cancer:

 

"A risk factor is anything that affects a person's chance of getting a disease such as cancer. Different cancers have different risk factors. For example, exposure to strong sunlight is a risk factor for skin cancer. Smoking is a risk factor for cancers of the lung, mouth, larynx (voice box), bladder, kidney, colon, anus, and several other organs. But having a risk factor, or even several risk factors, does not mean that you will get the disease.

 

Human papillomavirus (HPV) infection: Most squamous cell anal cancers seem to be linked to infection by the human papilloma virus (HPV), the same virus thought to cause cervical cancer. There are several subtypes of the virus, but the one most likely to cause anal cancer is called HPV-16. This virus is most often spread by sexual contact and is more likely to be found in people who have had many sex partners. Different subtypes of HPV can cause genital warts (condylomas), but most people infected with HPV do not have genital warts.

 

Sexual activity: Having multiple sex partners is a risk factor. Another risk factor is anal intercourse for both men and women, particularly younger than the age of 30.

 

Smoking: Smoking also increases the risk of anal cancer. Current smokers are several times more likely to have cancer of the anus compared with people who do not smoke. Quitting smoking will reduce the risk. People who used to smoke but have quit are only slightly more likely to develop this cancer compared with people who never smoked.

 

Lowered immunity/HIV infection: Higher rates of anal cancer occur among people with reduced immunity, such as people who have had an organ transplant and must take medicines that suppress their immune system. Another important risk factor is infection with the human immunodeficiency virus (HIV), the virus that causes AIDS. But effective drug treatment for HIV hasn't lowered the anal cancer rate in people infected with HIV."

 

Prevention of anal cancer is another issue. According to the article, "The best way to reduce the risk of developing anal cancer is to avoid sexual practices that carry a high risk of HPV infection and HIV infection, particularly having multiple partners and HAVING UNPROTECTED ANAL SEX. Smoking is a known risk factor for anal cancer. Stopping smoking significantly reduces the risk of developing anal cancer and many other cancers."

 

http://www.cancer.org/docroot/CRI/content/...47.asp?sitearea

 

 

[Rogie]

MonkeySee, thanks for posting that very informative report on anal cancer risk factors.

 

My reading of this is that gay men, whether they be top or bottom, who practice safe sex and who don't smoke are no more likely to become victims of this than the average person.

 

Seeing Farrah Fawcett in the newspaper today was a bit of a shock as it was the first I knew about her plight.

 

"Dont get this confused with bowel cancer,in which you hopefully are screened for every 5 years".

 

Good point taylorsquare: I would have thought a routine bowel check-up could easily enough be extended to include a quick anal check, perhaps along the lines of having your prostate checked by the so-called digital rectal examination. . . reasonably quick and painless.

 

Just thinking aloud here: gay men, especially bottoms, are usually pretty scrupulous about anal hygiene. There is no evidence that this helps, but bearing in mind the importance of the anus to the average gay guy, there is a good chance he'll be a bit more alert to any warning signs. Exactly what warning signs might there be, I don't know. Maybe it is a bit like bowel cancer which is often called the 'silent killer'.

 

 

[Guest shebavon]

Another example of how the conservative (mostly Christian) right's homophobia promotes gay practices which endanger our health.

 

By railing against same-sex marriage they are promoting promiscuity. And as you can see that puts Gays at a disadvantage in avoiding some cancers and STD's.

 

Does anyone remember the day they woke up and said "Gee, I think I will become a Gay person today". Personal choice, my ass.

[Guest lvdkeyes]

Personal choice, my ass.

Was the pun intentional?

[Guest BobbO]

There is a vaccine called Gardisil that is designed for young girls and women before they are exposed to HPV (best given pre-sexual activity). Research is now being done on Gardisil for men and boys. Here is an exerpt from WebMD

 

Nov. 13, 2008 -- Gardasil, a vaccine against four strains of human papillomavirus ( HPV), may help prevent genital warts in boys and men.

 

That's according to a new study presented this week in Nice, France, at the annual meeting of the European Research Organization on Genital Infection and Neoplasia (EUROGIN).

 

Gardasil targets four HPV strains that can lead to cervical cancer. The CDC recommends Gardasil for all girls aged 11-12, and the vaccine is approved for girls and women aged 9-26.

 

But HPV isn't just a problem for women. In men, HPV can lead to genital warts, anal cancer, and penile cancer.

 

The new study included 4,065 men aged 16-26. They got three shots of Gardasil or a placebo over six months.

 

Participants who got the Gardasil shots were 90% less likely to develop genital warts related to the four HPV strains that Gardasil targets.

 

No serious side effects were linked to Gardasil, though participants who got Gardasil reported "slightly more" injection site reactions than participants in the placebo group, according to the researchers, who included Joel Palefsky, MD, of the University of California at San Francisco.

 

Merck, the drug company that makes Gardasil, funded the study.

 

The FDA hasn't approved Gardasil for use in boys or men. Merck plans to file an application this year asking the FDA to approve Gardasil for boys and men aged 9 to 26 to prevent genital warts.