Lesbians Have Breast Too

27.10.11

Lesbians Have Breast Too

Health dispiarity in the LGBT healthcare industry is massive. Non-hetero people have poor access to healthcare and often fear discussing their sexual preference with their doctors and physicians. Aside from delving into my graduate essay on health disparities and LGBT patients, I want to take a quick moment, and talk to my lesbian loves!

Lesbians have breast too. We all know that October is Breast Cancer Awareness Month and this is the best time to remind women of all ages, races, cultures and creeds to check your breast. According to breastcancer.org The large national cancer registries and surveys do not collect data about sexual orientation, leaving lesbians embedded and invisible among this vast wealth of information. I fear that lesbians are not getting the message clearly enough. So here it is.


Some people currently believe that lesbians have an increased risk of developing breast cancer, based on a "cluster of risk factors" theory....The increased risks are a result of behaviors that are a result of the stress and stigma of living with homophobia and discrimination. Each of these behaviors carries with it an increased risk of cancer. Taken together, as a cluster, they could more than double a lesbian's chance of getting cancer.

The four most-cited cancer risk factors in the research on lesbians and breast cancer risk are:

Cigarette smoking - data suggest that lesbians smoke cigarettes at a substantially higher rate than heterosexual women.

Alcohol use - some research reports higher rates of heavy drinking among lesbians than heterosexual women

Obesity - some studies report that lesbians are more likely to be overweight or have a BMI over 25. Pregnancy - lesbians are less likely to have biological children before age 30, which would offer some protection against cancer.

Lesbians... look at your boobs. You want to keep your body, including your breast, healthy and cancer free... correct? Please... for the sake of your friends, family and yourself... check your breasts. Give them a nice rub, let a friend help! If they feel like they are hard in spots, ask your doctor to check it out for you. Consider getting a mammogram... especially if you are in your 30's and up! And take the necessary precautions to get your breast health in check!