The Pridelets Files for September 22

On this day in 1955, speaking to a group of perky Hollywood Republican wives, Illinois Senator Everett Dirksen reveals that the work of witchhunting for subversives, like "wreckers, destroyers, security risks, blabber-mouths, drunks, traitors, saboteurs and homosexuals" is "no picnic."

BIRTHGAYS (and the occasional straights)
* 1889 - "Frankenstein" director James Whale
* 1958 - Performance artist Tim Miller
* 1960 - Singer/songwriter Joan Jett
* 1970 - "All Over the Guy" actor / writer / producer Dan Bucatinsky

Q.UOTE
"Squeaky Fromme got life for missing Gerald Ford!" -- A courtroom spectator, after Dan White got two years for assassinating Harvey Milk and George Moscone

THE MEDICINE CHEST
"A Gay Man's Guide to Prostate Cancer" edited by Gerald Perlman and Jack Drescher

Discover the facts about -- and personal stories of -- gay men diagnosed with prostate cancer
According to the American Cancer Society, one man in six will develop prostate cancer in his lifetime, the second leading cause of cancer death in men. A Gay Man’s Guide to Prostate Cancer explores the medical facts as well as the personal experiences of medical and mental health professionals and gay men from different walks of life. This insightful examination from the perspective of being gay in a predominantly heterosexual medical world emphasizes the unique concerns gay men have when confronted with this life-altering disease.
The status quo of the medical world is heterosexually assumptive. A Gay Man’s Guide to Prostate Cancer shifts the perspective to gay men’s needs, challenges, and experiences when faced with this critical health risk. The book is divided into a professional section that covers the medical and psychological aspects affecting gay men, and an experiential section in which gay men of varying ages, ethnicities, races, and HIV status describe their own very personal feelings and experiences regarding their diagnosis, treatment, and side-effects. A helpful glossary provided for the layperson explains the meanings of medical words and phrases.
A Gay Man’s Guide to Prostate Cancer fills the gap in the literature about gay men challenged with prostate cancer, making it vital reading for physicians, psychotherapists, gay men faced with positive diagnosis, and of course, friends and loved ones. A portion of the proceeds from the sale of this book will go to MaleCare, Inc., a nonprofit organization that specifically serves men with various forms of cancer and organizes self-help groups specifically targeted to gay men with prostate cancer.

This work is copyright© 2006 Thomas Allen Heald, all rights reserved. Contact the author at tom@idontgetit.org and the latest column are always available at www.Pridelets.com.