感受 Cheeky：认识 Cheeky Charity 的创始人 David Russo

三月是结直肠癌宣传月，对于 Cheeky Charity 来说，这是一年中最忙碌的月份之一。我们与 Cheeky Charity 的创始人 David Russo 进行了交谈，他是 2022 年预防癌症基金会社区资助的获得者。作为一个古怪的非营利组织，Cheeky Charity 并不怕展示他们的发髻来让人们谈论结直肠癌。在这次采访中，David 分享了他创办 Cheeky Charity 的灵感、他在 LGBTQ+ 社区传播结直肠癌意识的目标，以及自三年前创办 Cheeky Charity 以来最让他印象深刻的时刻。

为简洁起见，我们对本次采访进行了编辑。

是什么启发您创办 Cheeky Charity 的？

在我还没有想到这一点之前，我就被这种疾病困扰了。当时我 32 岁，大便带血。作为一名性活跃的男同性恋，我放弃了这种想法并戒掉了这种疾病。[编者注：肛交可能会出现轻微出血，通常无需担心。几天内就会停止。] 但大约一个月后，我仍然发现大便带血。

我去看医生，他们告诉我，我还太年轻，不会有什么严重的问题，很可能是痔疮。但我感觉不对劲，所以我最终还是坚持去做了结肠镜检查，结果发现有几个癌前息肉，正处于转变为癌症的边缘。
I called home to tell my parents. And they said, “That makes sense. Your dad’s been getting polyps removed since he was 40. Your grandfather died of colorectal cancer. Your two (distant) cousins passed away from colorectal cancer.”

I didn’t know. Nobody talked about it. I knew my grandfather died of cancer before I was born, but I didn’t know what kind it was.
我很高兴能够更加意识到自己的 家史 and didn’t think much of it beyond that. Fast forward six years and COVID hit, and I started traveling the country in a sprinter van just to try to figure out what to do with my life. On a whim, I researched colorectal cancer, and I learned it’s the second leading cause of cancer death—and it’s getting to be more common in younger adults, and NOT just those with family history.

If I don’t know about it, other people must not know about it, either.
I started an Instagram page to post fun photos and PSAs about colorectal cancer alongside them. I wanted to attract people who would not otherwise see information about colorectal cancer—they’d come to us because they’d enjoy looking at the photography and then they would hear the message through it.

Our focus is on the LGBTQ community and within that, the younger adult population. But we certainly want everybody to see our messaging. During Pride Month this June, we’re trying to get colorectal cancer awareness into as many Pride events around the country as possible.

为什么提高对结直肠癌的认识很重要？

For anybody who’s under 45, the only reason they might get screened is if they experience any symptoms or if they learn they have a family history of the disease. And they’re likely not going to figure that out unless somebody tells them. Especially with the increasing incidence of colorectal cancer in younger adults, it’s more important than ever to make sure people are aware.

What we’re doing is getting the words “colorectal cancer” to an audience. The more you talk about it, the less stigma there is. So, we’re simplifying it and spreading the message—for people in their 20s and 30s, to be aware of signs and symptoms, and for people 45 and up to get screened.

您全年提供哪些资源来告知和教育您的受众？

每个月的第一个和第三个星期二，我们都会为 LGBTQ+ 结直肠癌患者、幸存者和护理人员举办支持小组。我们希望它能帮助社区中经历过和正在经历结直肠癌的人知道他们可以在温馨的环境中与人交谈。 （查找我们的在线或面对面 [加利福尼亚州棕榈泉] 团体。）

And we also bring people to other resources that exist. We’re very open to providing linkages for people so they can get care and financial services.

为什么提高 LGBTQ+ 社区对结直肠癌的认识很重要？

There are a lot of preconceived stigmas that people in the LGBTQ+ community have about what they’ll experience when they go into a health care setting.

美国癌症协会的《2024 年事实与数据》报告中有一个专门的 LGBTQ+ 部分，其中指出 LGBTQ+ 社区中六分之一的人由于过去的经历不佳和恐惧（例如害怕受到歧视或不受欢迎）而拒绝接受预防性筛查。在跨性别社区中，这一数字为五分之一。

作为一个社会，我们必须做得更好，以便 LGBTQ+ 人群能够获得他们需要的护理。作为一名 LGBTQ+ 人群，我希望让我的社区有能力倡导他们的健康。

预防癌症基金会的资助使 Cheeky Charity 能够做些什么？

Funding from the Prevent Cancer Foundation has been invaluable. It’s enabled us to create a foundation, to create a starting point. The Prevent Cancer Foundation grant allows us to work on the ground for in-person initiatives where we can physically interact with folks. And it would have taken us a very long time to be able to do that otherwise.

Last year’s $25,000 grant from the Prevent Cancer Foundation set us up, and now we were recently awarded $250,000 from the New York State Department of Health to expand our work. We’re in the phase where we have so much momentum, opportunity and growth, and it’s thanks to the Prevent Cancer Foundation for trusting us as a small organization.

你在 Cheeky Charity 的工作有何影响？

There were probably 20 or 30 moments where people had come up to me and said they’re overdue for their screenings, and their partner says, “I’m going to push you on this, too.” So we know we are helping somebody who is overdue for screening get into the doctor.
Then we’ve had a few people say they got screened and they didn’t detect anything. In those moments, I’m so grateful they went in and they can have the peace of mind knowing that things are clear and they don’t have to go in for another ten years for a colonoscopy.

And I can think of four instances in the last four months when people have come up to me and said, “I saw your campaign. I went in and I got screened and they found polyps.” One person said they found precancerous, like right-on-the-cusp polyps. It’s the folks that told me they caught the polyps early and prevented cancer that stand out the most, and I start crying and then they start crying and it’s just a big teary mess in all the best ways.

有关结直肠癌的更多信息，请访问 Preventcancer.org/colorectal，并访问预防癌症基金会页面 癌症和 LGBTQ+ 群体。