STUDY: Gay Men Tan More And Have Double The Incidence Of Skin Cancer

USA Today reports:

Gay and bisexual men in the United States are twice as likely as heterosexual men to get skin cancer, a new study shows. One likely reason: Gay and bisexual men are three times more likely to engage in indoor tanning, according to the study to be presented Friday in San Francisco at a meeting of the American Academy of Dermatology.

The study suggests that anti-tanning messages, most often aimed at young women, need to be broader, says researcher Sarah Arron, an associate professor of dermatology at the University of California, San Francisco. "The primary reason that men and women engage in indoor tanning is because of the cultural association of tanning with a healthy look and overall attractiveness," Arron says. "We need to dispel the myth of the healthy tan."

Gay and bisexual women in California were less likely than straight women to tan indoors. The researchers then looked at national health survey data for 2013 and found the same thing: A history of skin cancer was twice as common in gay and bisexual men as in straight men, 6.6% vs. 3.3%. About 5% of gay and bisexual men said they had engaged in indoor tanning in the past year vs. 1.7% of straight men. Gay and bisexual women were, again, less likely than straight women to report indoor tanning.

Nobody can be surprised by this.

Mike Huckabee: I Never Tried The "Miracle Diabetes Cure" That I've Been Pitching

The New York Times reports:

In his diabetes video, Mr. Huckabee promotes the “Diabetes Solution Kit,” a $19.95 booklet with advice on eating, exercise and dietary supplements. “Just sit tight,” he says in the two-minute, 40-second pitch, “because in a moment, a free presentation is coming up.” He promises it will reveal “all the natural secrets that are backed by real science that really work.” But rather than science, the second, lengthier video peddles a diabetes “cure” consisting of cinnamon and chromium picolinate. Both the American Diabetes Association and the Canadian Diabetes Association warn that dietary and herbal supplements are ineffective for treating diabetes, which is an epidemic in the United States and is tied to obesity.

“Most big pharma companies don’t know squat about how to reverse your diabetes,” the video says. Mr. Huckabee, who lost more than 100 pounds after being diagnosed with Type 2 diabetes in 2003, says in the video, “Techniques just like you’re going to find in this kit worked for me.” Asked this month at an appearance in Iowa if he had used cinnamon and chromium picolinate to reverse his diabetes, he said he had not. “No, I reversed it by taking better care of my health,” he said. Pressed about the dietary supplements promoted by the company he endorses, for which he was paid an undisclosed fee, he said: “I’ll do anything that promotes good health. Yes, sir.”

Subscribers to Huckabee's mailing list have also received a pitch for a "miracle cancer cure hidden in the bible." That one costs $72.

STUDY: Viagra Linked To Melanoma

A new study has linked Viagra use to an increased risk for melanoma.

The study, published in JAMA Internal Medicine, found sildenafil, commonly known as Viagra, may increase a man's risk for melanoma by as much as 84 percent. The study involved nearly 26,000 men enrolled in the Health Professionals Follow-Up Study at the Harvard School of Public Health. In 2000, the researchers interviewed men enrolled in the study about their sexual health, use of Viagra, as well as their history of sun exposure and genetic skin cancer risk, including hair and eye color and history of moles. The researchers identified 142 incidences of melanoma, 580 of squamous cell carcinoma and 3,030 of basal cell carcinoma. They found men who used Viagra were at nearly twice the risk for developing melanoma. However, there did not appear to be any link between the drug and risk for other types of skin cancers.

Anti-Gay Activist Ken Hutcherson Dies

Anti-gay activist Pastor Ken Hutcherson, who led the Referendum 71 effort to repeal Washington state's domestic partners law, has died of prostate cancer at the age of 61. Via World Net Daily:

He frequently was at the center of public controversy as an opponent of homosexual activism. He organized a “Mayday for Marriage” rally in Seattle in 2004 that drew 20,000 participants and spearheaded a similar event in Washington, D.C., later that year that attracted 140,000. A year later, he mobilized citizens to oppose state legislation that would have made it illegal to fire an employee due to their “sexual orientation.” He vowed to organize a national boycott of Microsoft products if the locally headquartered software giant didn’t withdraw its support, sparking protests. A close friend of family advocate Dr. James Dobson, Hutcherson raised his voice when he saw Dobson’s successor at Focus on the Family, Jim Daly, signal a more conciliatory approach to social issues.

Shortly after Washington state voters approved same-sex marriage in November 2012, Hutcherson declared that NOM was a racist organization and had excluded him from their campaign because he was black. He also led annual public school walkouts in protest of the Day Of Silence, a campaign against the bullying of gay kids. In 2010 Hutcherson officiated at Rush Limbaugh's fourth marriage.

PREVIOUSLY ON JMG: Hutcherson claims to have cost Microsoft billions from his anti-gay boycott.  Hutcherson says Satan loves openly gay NBA player Jason Collins.  Hutcherson says God hates effeminate men. Hutcherson says that if you are gay, God will murder you. Hutcherson says that the only reason he played football was so he could hurt white people legally. Hutcherson says gay people are going to marry horses. Hutcherson says gay men are going to marry little boys. Hutcherson says the governor of Washington is like Lincoln's killer because she signed the marriage bill. Hutcherson says Christians are so oppressed, they are "the new Negroes."

Headline Of The Day II

Details. (Tipped by JMG reader David)

HPV Vaccine Cuts Infections By Half

Great early news about the HPV vaccine:

The prevalence of dangerous strains of the human papillomavirus — the most common sexually transmitted infection in the United States and a principal cause of cervical cancer — has dropped by half among teenage girls in recent years, a striking measure of success for a vaccine against the virus that was introduced only in 2006, federal health officials said on Wednesday. The magnitude of the decline in HPV infections surprised public health experts because only about a third of teenage girls in the United States have been vaccinated with the full course of three doses. By comparison, vaccination rates in countries like Denmark and Britain are above 80 percent. Even Rwanda, in East Africa, has reached 80 percent. Yet even with relatively low vaccination rates in the United States, infection with the viral strains that cause cancer dropped to 3.6 percent among girls ages 14 to 19 in 2010, from 7.2 percent in 2006, the officials said.

An HPV vaccine for boys was introduced in 2011.

Quote Of The Day - Michael Douglas

"Without wanting to get too specific, this particular cancer is caused by HPV [human papillomavirus], which actually comes about from cunnilingus. I did worry if the stress caused by my son's incarceration didn't help trigger it. But yeah, it's a sexually transmitted disease that causes cancer. And if you have it, cunnilingus is also the best cure for it." - Michael Douglas, speaking to the Guardian about his recent bout with oral cancer.

The Guardian then spoke with an expert.

HPV, the sexually transmitted virus best known as a cause of cervical and anal cancer and genital warts, is thought to be responsible for an increasing proportion of oral cancers. Some propose that changes in sexual behaviour – a rise in oral sex in particular – are responsible. Such changes might be cultural, but could also be linked to fears about the safety of penetrative sex in the wake of the discovery of AIDS. Mahesh Kumar, a consultant head and neck surgeon in London, confirms that the last decade has seen a dramatic rise in this form of cancer, particularly among younger sufferers. Recent studies of 1,316 patients with oral cancer found that 57% of them were HPV-16 positive.

Kumar went on to dismiss Douglas' claim about the "best cure" for his cancer, although it seems to me that Douglas was likely joking. Douglas has been cancer-free for two years after rounds of radiation and chemotherapy.

RELATED:  Earlier this year National Lesbian & Gay Journalists Association president Michael Triplett died of HPV-related oral cancer.

Minister Sentenced To 14 Years For Fake Cancer Cure She Hawked On Christian TV

Dr. Christine Daniel, who is also a Pentecostal minister, has been sentenced to 14 years in prison and ordered to pay $1.2M to the families of people who died after using the fake cancer cure she had hawked on the prosperity gospel channel, the Trinity Broadcasting Network.

The scope of Daniel's fraud was breathtaking. Daniel robbed victims of more than money — she also stole their hopes and dreams for a cure. Daniel is responsible for a shockingly cold-hearted fraud that has brought her a richly deserved federal prison sentence," said U.S. Attorney Andre Birotte Jr., according to The Associated Press. Daniel, 58, was sentenced by U.S. District Judge Robert Timlin and ordered to hand over $1,277,083 to the estimated five dozen families she conned with her late-stage cancer cure from 2001 to 2004. Daniel's "cure" came in the form of herbal supplements called "C-Extract" she claimed had a 60-80 percent success rate and came from South America and Africa. The pills, revealed by analysis to contain sunscreen preservative, beef flavoring and other mundane ingredients, were in reality regular over-the-counter vitamins available at any drug store.

Daniel and her employees reportedly told patients that her concoction would also cure Alzheimer's, Parkinson's, and diabetes. Daniel was sentenced two weeks ago and today the Christian Post notes she had plugged her treatment on Praise The Lord, TBN's most popular show.

Angelina Jolie Has Double Mastectomy

In a piece written for the New York Times, Angelina Jolie has revealed that she has undergone a preventive double mastectomy.

The truth is I carry a “faulty” gene, BRCA1, which sharply increases my risk of developing breast cancer and ovarian cancer. My doctors estimated that I had an 87 percent risk of breast cancer and a 50 percent risk of ovarian cancer, although the risk is different in the case of each woman. Only a fraction of breast cancers result from an inherited gene mutation. Those with a defect in BRCA1 have a 65 percent risk of getting it, on average. Once I knew that this was my reality, I decided to be proactive and to minimize the risk as much I could. I made a decision to have a preventive double mastectomy. I started with the breasts, as my risk of breast cancer is higher than my risk of ovarian cancer, and the surgery is more complex.

Porn Legend Harry Reems Dead At 65

Deep Throat star Harry Reems, the only porn actor ever charged and then convicted on federal obscenity charges (overturned on appeal), has died of pancreatic cancer at the age of 65.

The news was first reported by Don Schenk, a close friend of Reems, who was by his side yesterday afternoon when he succumbed to organ failure at the Salt Lake City VA Hospital. Gawker has since received confirmation of Reems' passing from a representative of the hospital. According to Schenk, Reems was first diagnosed with pancreatic cancer last summer, compounding his existing health problems, which included peripheral neuropathy and emphysema.

Following the Deep Throat court case, Reems fell into alcoholism and drug abuse, but Gawker notes that he spent the last 25 years of his life as a sober and highly successful real estate broker. 

TRIVIA: Reems was originally cast as the track coach in the film version of Grease, but was replaced by Sid Ceasar over fears that his porn past would hurt attendance.

RELATED: Deep Throat is widely considered the most financially successful porn movie of all time, with some accounts putting its worldwide gross at around $600M, placing the film in contention with other highest-grossing conventional titles. Film critic Roger Ebert has contested that figure, saying that mob-connected theaters probably inflated box office revenues in order to launder drug and prostitution-related money. The film's female lead, Linda Lovelace (real name Linda Boreman), died in 2002 after denouncing the porn industry and becoming a spokeswoman for the anti-pornography movement. Lovelace claimed that the bruises visible on her body in Deep Throat came from the gun barrel of her then-husband, whom she claimed beat her into making the movie. In 1986 she told a congressional committee, "Virtually every time someone watches that movie, they're watching me being raped." Others in the porn industry discounted Lovelace's claims, noting that she went on to make other films. Lovelace's story, however, was backed by the late porn actress and disco star, Andrea True.

Valerie Harper Has Terminal Brain Cancer

Horrible news. People Magazine reports:

A battery of tests revealed she has leptomeningeal carcinomatosis, a rare condition that occurs when cancer cells spread into the fluid-filled membrane surrounding the brain. Her doctors say she has as little as three months left to live. Resolved to face her last days with courage and humor, "I don't think of dying," says the actress, 73, who previously battled lung cancer in 2009. "I think of being here now."

Live Nude Testicle Exam On British TV

JMG reader Michael notes: "Here's something you'll never see on Dr. Oz or US TV in a long long time. I can only imagine the Million Moms caterwauling if it did ever air."  British tabloid The Sun has the story and the photos might not be work-safe.  Which is a shame.

Battling Leukemia With HIV

Researchers at the University of Pennsylvania say they are encouraged by the early results in an experimental leukemia treatment that uses a "disabled form of HIV."

To perform the treatment, doctors remove millions of the patient’s T-cells — a type of white blood cell — and insert new genes that enable the T-cells to kill cancer cells. The technique employs a disabled form of H.I.V. because it is very good at carrying genetic material into T-cells. The new genes program the T-cells to attack B-cells, a normal part of the immune system that turn malignant in leukemia. The altered T-cells — called chimeric antigen receptor cells — are then dripped back into the patient’s veins, and if all goes well they multiply and start destroying the cancer. The T-cells home in on a protein called CD-19 that is found on the surface of most B-cells, whether they are healthy or malignant. A sign that the treatment is working is that the patient becomes terribly ill, with raging fevers and chills — a reaction that oncologists call “shake and bake,” Dr. June said.

That "shake and bake" side-effect sounds much like what happens to many people when they first become infected with HIV. (Tipped by JMG reader Robert)

Former Sen. Arlen Specter Dead At 82

Longtime Republican, recently turned Democrat, and friend to the LGBT community, former Sen. Arlen Specter has died at the age of 82.

One of the few remaining Republican moderates on Capitol Hill at a time when the party had turned sharply to the right, Mr. Specter confounded fellow Republicans at every turn. He unabashedly supported Roe v. Wade, the Supreme Court decision that made abortion legal, and championed biomedical and embryonic stem cell research long before he received his cancer diagnosis. When he made a bid for the White House in 1995, he denounced the Christian right as an extremist “fringe” — an unorthodox tactic for a candidate trying to win votes in a Republican primary. The campaign was short-lived; Mr. Specter ended it when he ran out of cash. Years later, he said wryly of the other candidates, “I was the only one of nine people in New Hampshire who wanted to keep the Department of Education.”

Human Rights Campaign president Chad Griffin reacts via press release:

"On behalf of the Human Rights Campaign, I extend our condolences to the family of Arlen Specter. His support for repeal of 'Don't Ask, Don't Tell' and passage of the Matthew Shepard hate crimes law was critical. As was his willingness to change his mind and oppose the Federal Marriage Amendment in 2006 after voting for it in 2004. While we disagreed with his support for some conservative judicial nominees which will leave a lasting negative impact on our community, he was willing to work across party lines to get things done."

Teen Invents Inexpensive Cancer Test

And he did it with the help of Google.

Fifteen-year-old high school student Jack Andraka likes to kayak and watch the US television show Glee. And when time permits, he also likes to do advanced research in one of the most respected cancer laboratories in the world. Jack Andraka has created a pancreatic cancer test that is 168 times faster and considerably cheaper than the gold standard in the field. He has applied for a patent for his test and is now carrying out further research at Johns Hopkins University in the US city of Baltimore. And he did it by using Google. The Maryland native, who won $75,000 at the Intel International Science and Engineering Fair in May for his creation, cites search engines and free online science papers as the tools that allowed him to create the test. The BBC's Matt Danzico sat down with the teenager, who said the idea came to him when he was "chilling out in biology class".

He loves Glee and he's super smart. Could he be family?

(Tipped by JMG reader Beeblemeyer)

Conan The Bacterium

Some of the most interesting items pop up on the Department of Defense's official YouTube channel. Clip description:

Scientists at the Uniformed Services University say a bug dubbed Conan the Bacterium holds the key to creating vaccines for numerous deadly diseases such as HIV and cancer. Conan has already proven effective in killing MRSA in mice at NIH.

Seen On The Upper East Side

Nora Ephron Dead At 71

Famed director, author, and screenwriter Nora Ephron has died of leukemia at the age of 71.

The three-time Academy Award nominee was a prolific author, screenwriter, playwright and director who made a name for herself as a pioneer in Hollywood, where she was one of the first women to write and direct her own films. She contributed essays and journalism to outlets including the New York Times and the Huffington Post, for which she last wrote a story in June 2011. She had most recently written the play "Lucky Guy," a drama based on the life of Pulitzer Prize-winning journalist Mike McAlary, which was expected to open on Broadway in 2013 with Tom Hanks in the starring role. Ephron's marked film career was known for her charming romantic-comedies that often starred such silver screen icons as Meryl Streep, Tom Hanks, and Meg Ryan, with whom she worked multiple times throughout her career.

Ephron got her screenwriting Oscar nominations for Silkwood, When Harry Met Sally, and Sleepless In Seattle.

One Gay Man's Battle Against Oral Cancer

Michael Triplett is a vice president of the National Gay & Lesbian Journalists Association and their most prolific blogger. He's also just reached the first anniversary in his battle against HPV-related oral cancer, about which he's just written for the Good Men Project. An excerpt:

In the past year, I’ve had: three surgeries, 42 days of traditional radiation treatment, five rounds of chemotherapy, and five days of advanced radiation treatment. My medical bills have surpassed the $600,000 mark—thank God for my employer’s great insurance plan. I’ve lost over 50 pounds and all my facial hair, had almost half of my tongue removed, undergone two high-tech robotic procedures, used up over 70 percent of my accumulated sick leave, and had my 76-year old mother living with me for about 12 weeks to assist in my care. From this birthday forward, my gifts better be pretty damn spectacular.

My cancer is part of a growing “epidemic” of oral cancer unrelated to smoking and drinking. Instead, there is an increase—primarily in middle-aged, white men—of tongue and other mouth cancers connected to the human papillomavirus (HPV). HPV has traditionally been connected to cervical cancer in women, but there is growing evidence of the virus being a major risk factor for getting head and neck cancer. I’ve never smoked and never been more than a social drinker. I’ve never even performed oral sex on a woman, which has been a working hypothesis behind the rise in oral cancers for men. While it’s nice to be special and unique, the only real comfort comes from knowing that HPV-related oral cancer is more responsive to treatment and that the prognosis is better than other oral cancers.

Read the entire essay.

Prostate Cancer Breakthrough?

Promising news:

A new treatment for prostate cancer can rid the disease from nine in ten men without debilitating side effects, a study has found, leading to new hope for tens of thousands of men. It is hoped the new treatment, which involves heating only the tumours with a highly focused ultrasound, will mean men can be treated without an overnight stay in hospital and avoiding the distressing side effects associated with current therapies. A study has found that focal HIFU, high-intensity focused ultrasound, provides the 'perfect' outcome of no major side effects and free of cancer 12 months after treatment, in nine out of ten cases. Traditional surgery or radiotherapy can only provide the perfect outcome in half of cases currently.