A new campaign called “Behind Closed Drawers” hopes to raise awareness to the issue of anal cancer among gay men.
“A growing number of physicians and health activists recommend that all men who have sex with men, especially those who are HIV-positive, be tested every one-to-three years depending on their immunological well-being and CD4 count,” organizers said in a statement. “They suggest that HIV negative individuals be tested every three years. This work is important, because most people know little about anal cancer, have never been tested for it, and don’t know that screening tests exist.”
The campaign, which was launched by the National LGBT Cancer Network and Tusk and Dagger, is currently working to create a directory of free and low-cost, LGBT-friendly anal cancer screening clinics across the country.
Organizers hope to raise funds by asking folks to text 41444 to “UNDIES” and make a donation. They are also encouraging people to spread the word via social media by posting photos of themselves in their underpants with the hashtag #BehindClosedDrawers.
How about we take this to the next level?
Our newsletter is like a refreshing cocktail (or mocktail) of LGBTQ+ entertainment and pop culture, served up with a side of eye-candy.
An opportunity to raise awareness and take shameless selfies of ourselves in our undies for a good cause? Count us in.
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dunner
i live in sf i have been checked for over 20 yrs now you all i mean every one should be checked out
Malcontent
The key thing that is not made clear from this article and much of the coverage you see around is that the vast majority of Anal cancer is caused by HPV infection (Human Papilloma Virus) – so it is a sexually transmitted disease. It is the exact same virus which causes the majority of Cervical Cancers in women. Anal Cancer is just as nasty and aggressive as Cervical Cancer, and if you have a screening programme available to you, you should take it up because getting to it early makes a huge difference.
And there is a myth that if you don’t have genital warts, you don’t have HPV – you can be infected with HPV and never know it.
You can also be vaccinated against HPV. In the USA, all gay and bisexual men up to the age of 26 can be offered HPV vaccination (and all other men up to the age of 21). In the UK there is currently no vaccination of men but you can request it. The message is clear: if you’re gay or bisexual, take part in screening and get vaccinated if possible.
sanfranca1
@Malcontent: Why only up to age 26?
QJ201
If you have healthcare, just ask for a rectal pap smear at your annual physical, ask if DNA testing is available and covered.
Talk to your doctor about vaccination for HPV.
Bauhaus
I’m behind this campaign!
jwtraveler
I notice that there was not one word in the article about cause or prevention, a critical fault. Thanks, commenters, for adding some of that information. This is one reason why it is essential for ALL young people to be vaccinated against HPV before they become sexually active. My understanding is that many, if not most, sexually active adults have HPV although most of them are asymptomatic.
Of course vaccinating adolescents will inevitably evoke opposition from right-wing Christonuts who think that vaccinating their sons is a plot to turn them gay.
Billy Budd
I had HPV in THAT place and I had it removed with acid lotion. I am over 26 so I can’t take the vaccine. I do hope I won’t have any cancer in the future!
Billy Budd
BTW, here in Brazil there was a huge informal campaign against the vaccine. Worried mother spread the “viral rumours” on the internet, saying that the vaccine wasn’t safe and that many girls had nearly died after being vaccinated. The free vaccination promoted by the government was partially a failure because of this.
Scribe38
I got the test a little over a year ago. I’m in the medical field and didn’t even know about the test before then (HPV for men). My doctor’s specialty is gay men’s health and I believe that can be really important at times. The staff researches diseases that effect our community. There is never any embarrassment about these topics. The actual test feels like a pen prick or skin scratch; it’s worth the piece of mind.
jason smeds
I am certainly NOT going to get myself checked out. I don’t have anal sex. In fact, I loathe it. Whenever I’ve been intimate in recent years, it’s been frottage or some other form of intimate contact barring anal.
Therefore, I’m not going to give money to Big Pharma. If you want to buy your pharmaceutical drugs and have a myriad of tests, go right ahead. Just don’t count me in. I’m not here to give money to a pharmaceutical company so that their CEO’s can build more mansions for themselves and their families.
I think that if you need to receive a penis in your anus, you have vaginal issues. You like to imagine your anus as a vagina. You may even be a gynephile. At the back of your minds, you have this desire to get pregnant and have a baby.
While I understand the appeal of friction, why not just use a hand?
RyanD
@ jason smeds: …what? I’m not sure if you’re being sincere or doing an exceptionally good Poe. Either way, project away.
john
@jason smeds: Your post is a perfect example of why education is so very necessary. Please research HPV….its a virus that isn’t spread just by intercourse but actually it’s spread by contact mainly…I.e. “Frottage” That is the reason why it’s very common amongst adults. Many times the virus doesn’t present itself in any physically visual way and when it does it can appear as what’s known as warts on any part of the body. So just using a Hand and friction Does Not prevent the spread! Unless you are celebrate and also have no history of human sexual contact. There are many strains of the virus and some have been linked and proven to cause Cancer, hence the very thinly explained less than informative article. Please get tested and more importantly educate yourself before making sone very ignorant comment about anal sex and pregnancy and unicorns or what ever that crazy psyc analogy/diagnosis was.
john
Meant celebate!
bbg372
@sanfranca1: By age 26, one will likely already have been exposed to HPV. The vaccine may have some therapeutic effect, but for it to prevent infection, it needs to be administered before one is exposed.
Castleton
The good news is that no one needs to die from cancer as nature has provided a cure known as “capsaicin” the chemical that makes hot peppers hot. Capsaicin effectively works by interruting the oxygen process of cancer cells, causing them to shut down. The National Cancer Society confirms this in a three year study and there are several articles online about it.
petensfo
Ignore the troll…
I think the prevalence is much greater than people realize… especially for gay guys, especially for those that enjoy having their butt eaten.
I fully intend to ask my PCP for screening at my next visit. And remember, if your doc is straight, they’re not going to yet recognize that a gay patient is at a higher risk. Don’t take, No, for an answer.
1898
“I think that if you need to receive a penis in your anus, you have vaginal issues. You like to imagine your anus as a vagina. You may even be a gynephile. At the back of your minds, you have this desire to get pregnant and have a baby.”
That’s certifiably the most bizarre and ridiculous comment I’ve read on this site in a long, long time.
liznyc
I am grateful to Queerty for publicizing the new FUNdraising and awareness campaign of the National LGBT Cancer Network. I completely understand that they needed to shorten the story for their space and audience. Rest assured that we are well aware of the HPV link to anal cancer and the importance of vaccinating our youth. See our entire email here, http://createsend.com/t/r-E29286E1C3C49FDF2540EF23F30FEDED