An article published today on the website “Medical News Today” explains that research indicates lesbians and bisexual women may be at a higher risk of dying of breast cancer, listing a number of factors that could lead to the increase in risk.
The No. 1 reason is that lesbians and bisexuals (spelled “bi-sexual”) women tend not to see a doctor as often, not to get routine mammograms and not to be as open and up front in talking to their doctor about their health. The article quotes Liz Margolies, executive director of the National LGBT Cancer Network, who says that lesbians and bisexual women tend not to seek medical treatment and get routine health checkups because the healthcare system is insensitive to, and sometimes even hostile to, lesbians and bisexual women.
And the MNT article makes that blatantly obvious, just in the way it is written. For example, the article — written by Rupert Shepherd, who I am willing to bet is a straight man — starts off this way: “Whilst in no way a condemnation of lifestyle choices, new research is showing that Lesbian and Bi-sexual women tend to engage in more high risk behaviors that can lead to them being more at risk from breast cancer.”
Can you guess what irritated me right away? And that’s not the only time it happens in the article. Shepherd uses the terms “lifestyle” and “sexual preference” throughout.
To be honest, the article contains a lot of very important and useful information. For instance, according to the American Cancer Society, 230,000 women are diagnosed with breast cancer every year, and each year, an estimated 40,000 women die of breast cancer. And it includes information on things that can increase a woman’s risk of getting breast cancer — like smoking, alcohol use, obesity and not getting pregnant before age 30.
(According to the article, studies show that lesbians and bisexual women tend to smoke more, drink more, weigh more and, believe it or not, get pregnant less than straight women. So lesbians and bisexual women tend to have more risk factors for breast cancer.)
Unfortunately all that important and helpful information tends to get lost in the sea of Shepherd’s poor choices when it comes to language. And that’s really too bad.
Of course, there are options. And the National LGBT Cancer Network website looks like a really good one. So if you or someone you love has cancer or is at risk for cancer, check out this website instead. You can “create a personal cancer risk report,” “find local LGBT-friendly screening facilities,” “sign up for electronic screening reminders” and more. And on this site, if you see the word “lifestyle,” I bet it is referring to things like whether you smoke or drink, not whether or not you are LGBT. And I’m also willing to bet that the National LGBT Cancer Network isn’t going to confuse “sexual preference” with “sexual orientation,” either.
Thanks for sharing Tammye. I have many lesbian friends who sometimes get mixed in to the gay (male) life of the Dallas gayborhood and tend to feel left out of the Oak Lawn “scene” which is very male dominated. I’m glad someone is being a voice for them at the Voice especially during Breast Cancer Awareness Month! I’ll share this article!
So, expain to be how Lesbians are at high risk of getting breast cancer? That just sexist!
Preppystudent: It has nothing to do with sexism. It is a simple fact of risks. Lesbians in general tend not to get pregnant before age 30, which increases risk of cancer. As women, lesbians tend to make less money and to therefore forgo routine medical exams. Another risk factor. Those who do go to the doctor often do not communicate completely about their sexual orientation for fear of discrimination. Another risk factor. Many studies have shown that lesbians — LGBTs in general — often smoke more and drink more than non-LGBTs.
Women get breast cancer much more often than men. That’s not sexist, just a simple fact of bilogy. It is not our sexual orientation that mean lesbians face a higher risk of breast cancer, but our risky behaviors. A straight woman who has never had a child, drinks, smokes and doesnt go to the doctor regularly is just as much at risk
I find it interesting that they believe lesbians to be more likely to get breast cancer than others and that the facts of what cause breast cancer change quite often. Every year it seems to change what causes and does not cause breast cancer. Instead of them saying what causes breast cancer lets make the government allow the cure for cancer to be released and use. Plus lets talk about medical for a monument. Lets look at the real facts that without jobs one can not afford health insurance and even when you do get health insurance it does not cover everything. Next if you do not have a job the government can refuse to provide people with health insurance. So when it comes to being able to go to the doctors lets look at the real reason people are not going. It is not because we do not want to see a doctor or get help but because how can we afford to when doctors are to expensive and nobody wants to provide health care for the people. Give us health care and we can go to the doctors. My life style is not the reason I am not seeing a doctor but the factor that I do not have health care.