Go Men!

Honestly, some days I don't know why I even bother.

Medicare has just approved payments for a very expensive drug for metastatic prostate cancer. It’s said to prolong the lives of cancer patients by approximately 4 months. I’m very happy for the millions of men who suffer from metastatic prostate cancer, especially those who get it relatively young, in their 30s, 40s, and 50s.

Why do I even bring this up? Well, as I said, I don’t begrudge the treatment for men. I think it’s appropriate. However, I do find it interesting that Congress, a body run by mostly older white men, is happy to approve a drug for treatment of a cancer that mostly strikes older white men. And yet they refuse to fund preventive cancer screenings for women at low cost clinics, which ultimately costs the government far less than actual cancer treatment itself.

As I said, I think that it’s appropriate to fund payments for cancer treatment. My dad had prostate cancer, and was treated promptly and successfully for it – using his Medicare payments (yes, older white man). I also think it’s appropriate to fund preventive measures such as PSAs for men and mammograms and pap smears for women. But the House has voted to defund all reproductive services to women, if the delivering entity also provides pregnancy termination services. Guess what? Most paps and mammograms are ordered by OB-GYNs. You know what they also do? Provide pregnancy care, including termination of pregnancy care - for an unlimited variety of reasons. Go figure.

Are you as shocked as I am (*sarcasm*) that federal funds pay for cancer screening for men, including at clinics that receive federal funds? Yet clinics that were receiving federal funds that care for mostly poor women and teens have had their funding pulled. In fact, the bills that have passed the House all single out women, so that men are still free to enjoy all the services they currently receive. And truly, I agree with funding services for men. I do. I just wonder why the House (and legislatures all over the country) seem to hate women so much that they’d rather see us get cancer than pay for our cancer screenings because of a very small percentage of abortion services.

Is it because prostate cancer affects a man’s ability to get it up, and we can’t have that? They have to be able to get it up in order to get all us women pregnant with babies we might not want but have to keep. Or is it simply that prostate cancer primarily affects older men, and our Congress is made up of older men? And g-d forbid they do anything not in their own self-interest.

As I said, I wholeheartedly approve of federal funding for treatment and screening of the male reproductive organs. I just wonder why us females don’t rate the same respect. And why it’s deemed ok by so many to be so freakin hypocritical.

(originally posted at my personal blog, unlined intentionally)