Anal Cancer

Very few people access -- or even know about -- the test that can help detect whether you have HPV in your anus. But it should be a staple of gay and bisexual men's health care.

Half of HIV-positive gay or bisexual men successfully treated for anal lesions (tissue damage) that can lead to cancer had the same kind of lesions within 24 months, according to results of a recent study.

It's crucial that HIV-positive folks get screened regularly for HPV-related cancers. But a new study explores whether treatment is always necessary -- and it wants you!

Nelson Vergel talks with Dr. Joel Palefsky and Jeff Taylor, two of the nation's top minds in HIV/HPV, to discuss anal cancer, HPV and HIV.

Anal paps aren't indicated for everyone, but are becoming part of routine care for certain populations. Do you need them?

Most often, anal cancer is caused by the stunningly common human papillomavirus (HPV). MSM are more likely to get anal HPV than men who only have sex with women. If you add HIV, the infection risk goes up further.

You probably don't think about people in their underwear when you think about cancer, but the National LGBT Cancer Network will change that with its Behind Closed Drawers campaign.

"The problem is, the cold, hard facts about anal cance don't really tell the story of how this affects someone's life both physically and mentally."

"One way or another he had to overcome the cancer and at least this hospital was the best in the country; he had to have faith in them."

Cancer is a curious thing nobody knows what the cause is, though some pretend they do. It's like some hidden assassin, waiting to strike at you.

-- W.H. Auden

2011 Bureaucratic Injustice