Actress Farrah Fawcett lost her battle with anal cancer today at the age of She was first diagnosed in Anal cancer is one of those cancers no one likes to talk about because it's, well, anal cancer. But we really should discuss it as much as, say, cervical cancer. Both are predominately caused by the sexually transmitted human papillomavirus. In fact, a study of 6, anal cancer patients the majority of whom were women found that 73 percent of the patients tested positive for the strain HPV, one of the strains that the Gardasil vaccine protects against. What's worrisome is that unlike cervical cancer, which has dropped dramatically since the advent of the Pap smear, anal cancer is on the rise. Incidence rates over the past 30 years have jumped by 78 percent in women and percent in men, probably because more people now have more sexual partners and more people have anal sex both among heterosexuals and gay men , says Lisa Johnson, a cancer epidemiologist at the Fred Hutchinson Cancer Research Center in Seattle who led the study. Having unprotected sex, either anal or vaginally, raises your risk of becoming infected with HPV. Smoking is also associated with a higher risk of anal cancer, according to information I gleaned from the National Cancer Institute website, possibly because it inhibits immune function.


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'Why my cancer - that killed Farrah Fawcett - is still the last taboo'
Fawcett, who lived her life in the spotlight, gained renown as the face of cancer as she provided a highly publicized account of her three-year journey. In September , Fawcett was diagnosed with anal cancer, a rare form of the disease which affects only around 8, Americans each year. Following her diagnosis, Fawcett began an aggressive course of radiation treatment and chemotherapy , both standard treatments for anal cancer. She issued this statement soon after her diagnosis stating that she was "determined to bite the bullet and fight the fight" while going undergoing six weeks of "cutting-edge, state-of-the-art" treatment. After completion, the actress was reportedly in good spirits and optimistic about her future. Five months later, Farrah was declared cancer-free. It was only a few months later, during a routine follow-up, that a malignant polyp was found, indicating cancer had returned. It was considered a crushing blow for Fawcett. Shortly after in , Fawcett sought alternative treatment in Frankfurt, Germany, which combined chemotherapy and non-conventional healing remedies. It was eventually learned that Fawcett had declined surgery and opted to continue treatment in Germany even as cancer spread to her liver.
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This is the same virus responsible for cervical, vulvar, vaginal, penile and oral cancers. The list of cancers resulting from HPV continues to grow, with oral cancer mainly affecting men as the latest on the ongoing list. It has been known for quite some time, however, that HPV is responsible for anal cancer. Over the past three decades, anal cancer has risen among women by 78 percent, and it has risen among men by percent. It has been another seven years, and still, little is done to inform the public of this rapidly growing trend and the vaccine that can prevent the two most aggressive strains of HPV known to cause anal cancer.
No one talked much about anal cancer until Farrah Fawcett made it her mission to break the silence. After undergoing chemotherapy and radiation, she was declared cancer-free the following year. But three months later, tests showed the cancer had returned and spread to her liver. Laurence Piro told People.