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Not surprisingly perhaps, I loved "Charlie's Angels" for all its campy qualities. I wasn't physically attracted to Farrah Fawcett Majors (I know it's just Farrah Fawcett now, but it's still a reflex of mine to call her by her married name--you know, when she was married to Lee Majors of "The Six Million Dollar Man"). However, I did find her captivating, in the way only a gay boy could.
As the years went by, I must admit that I never really kept up with all of the ins and outs of her life. I knew what surfaced to the headlines, as a good news addict should. So I was greatly surprised--and a bit embarrassed--when I finally read on Advocate.com that Farrah had died of anal cancer. I was surprised because I had missed the "anal" part of the phrase "anal cancer" in all the previous coverage of her illness. I was embarrassed not about the kind of cancer, but that I had been so inattentive to such an important detail.
But then I stopped being embarrassed and started being curious. Was I the only one who didn't know? My extremely unscientific "poll" (I asked a few people) made me feel better. One person knew years ago that Farrah had anal cancer. The rest had no clue until the coverage of her passing. What does that mean, if anything?
Without doing an analysis of the coverage, it's unfair of me to say with any certainty that the media deliberately avoided using the word "anal" when describing her cancer. However, I don't think it's unfair of me to say that my gut tells me that if an analysis were to be made of the coverage of her cancer that we might find the word "anal" was omitted more often than it was included. I would hope that such an analysis would find that the LGBT media was better in using the word "anal" versus the mainstream media.
Breast cancer and prostate cancer were taboo topics not even a few generations ago, but society--and the media--got over the giggle factor (for the most part) on those diseases. For obvious reasons, the fact that anal cancer is surrounded with stigma should surprise no one. It remains rare, but it is a real disease that kills real people. The irony of anal cancer taking the life of a sex symbol will hopefully start the destigmatization process.
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You are very correct on the issue of Miss Fawcett's tragic death from anal cancer. I found it equally tragic that she also rarely identified the "location" of the cancer. It all became "Farrah Fawcett has cancer and isn't that tragic" (which it is and was). However, the mega opportunity to bring anal cancer out of the "medical closet" may be the most tragic part of her death after all. If there had been more press about anal cancer then maybe we would have seen a major social and medical shift into screening like we did when Betty Ford and Happy Rockefeller came out in the 70s with their breast cancer diagnosis or - more closely to home - when "Magic" Johnson announced he had contracted HIV. I fully understand that everyone - celebrity or not - deserves their privacy, but his could have been a monumental shift in the health care community.
Where I practice on Cape Cod which has one of the largest HIV positive populations in the entire state of Massachusetts I am the ONLY clinician who does anal pap smears on all people (men and women) who engage in anal sex. It is still mind numbing to me to talk to a new HIV patient about this and have him or her tell me that NO ONE has ever even mentioned this. This is as stunning as if a sexually active women would have announced her medical provider never suggested a vaginal pap smear or mammogram.
It is time for POZ to step up to the plate on this issue and do a comprehensive article aim at both people living with HIV and their medical providers. The procedure is simple, quick, and painless. It also can save lives and ALWAYS provides a much neglected "teachable moment".
You are right, it seems taboo in the media to have ben specific about Farrah's condition, I mainly heard it referred to as a "rare form of cancer," which is technically correct but not specific.
I forgot to respond to Richard Ferri. The lack of attention to the "anal" part was not Farrah's "fault" but the media's. Are you not aware that she chronicled her disease very openly in a highly rated documentary called Farrah's Story? It is discussed therein. She did not shrink away from it and in fact, wanted to get the word out that early detection can save lives. Something that, according to one of the original producers, was downplayed by Alana Stewart. Farrah was too sick to insist on that prevention message getting more attention.
My partner died of ano-rectal cancer and Hodgkins Disease (another form of cancer in white blood cells) complicated by HIV. My doc, a major HIV doc in DC, says anal pap smears are useless. I would like to see some data on them. My partner had Hodgkin's Disease and did chemo and lived five years when they discovered 4th stage Hodgkin's and then 4th stage ano-rectal cancer. He died 2 years later. I've always wondered how the cancer doc and our regular doc missed diagnosing him earlier,Particularly given his history, maybe in time to give him more years.
I think the reason not much was said about the location of her cancer is because ,as I now know ,it is most likely caused by getting [anal sex]. I wish I had known this. I was told it is caused by the HPV that causes vaginal cancer.This is why we must always use a condom even if the top is NOT HIV positive.