Roger&#x;s experience of breast cancer as a gay man
Talking to Breast Cancer Now staff
During Pride month, we invited Roger to discuss to Breast Cancer Now staff about his experiences as a gay man going through breast cancer, the importance of intimate relationships during treatment, and the need for healthcare professionals to understand what it means to him to be treated as a gay man.
We were delighted to have Roger talk to us about the specific needs of LGBT+ people and older people going through breast cancer, and we’d like to contribute some of his key points with you all – in his own words!
A little about Roger
I am a retired instructor and live in Margate with my husband Nigel. I was diagnosed with stage 3 breast cancer just over six years ago, and had a mastectomy and infected lymph nodes removed; a course of radiotherapy followed, and I had tamoxifen prescribed. I have recently been discharged from care by my consultant.
I am glad to be a member of the Male Breast Cancer online support group (the Men’s VMU) and value my involvement with Breast Cancer Now.
The difference a he
The Hotel Roger Dee
Read more in my book: The Magic Farm and other queer tales
A gay couple opening a hotel nearby Brighton is so commonplace these days it’s almost a cliché. In , however, few people had seen the likes of the Hotel Roger Dee before…
Roger Deacon was born in London in , and swiftly developed a passion for entertaining. His energy and powerful singing voice made him popular with the crowds.
He soon formed a prosperous cabaret partnership with Douglas Light, aka Duggie Dean, and ‘deacon and dean’ played the Moss Empires theatre circuit up and down the country.
Roger’s brother David Deacon describes the pair “Blond, boyish Duggie, brought charm, an engaging tenor voice and a flair for harmony to the act; dark, curly-haired Roger had mobile features, what he called &#;me big conk&#;, and burst onto the stage with energy and theatricality.”
“I recall their stint at the Brighton Hippodrome,” continues David. “They had a Caravette (a sort of Dormobile) with deacon and dean emblazoned on the sides. It was both an alternative to theatrical digs and for publicity &#;
Roger Ray Gay Sr.
Harlem- Mr. Roger Ray Gay Sr., 69, widower of Mrs. Billie Gay, passed away Saturday, January 4, , at Doctors Hospital.
A graveside service will be at 2 p.m., Wednesday, January 8, , in the South Harlem Cemetery, with Rev. Chad Widener officiating.
Mr. Gay was born in McDuffie County, but had lived in Harlem for many years. He was a Cabinet Maker and a member of the Cabinet Millwright Local Union
Survivors include his daughter, Renee (Clayton) Phillips, Harlem; his son, Roger Ray Gay Jr., Harlem; his step-son, Kevin Blackmon, Harlem; his sister, Pamela Colquitt, Harlem; his two brothers, Timmy Gay, Harlem and Daniel Gay, Dearing; and his 7 grandchildren and 6 great-grandchildren.
Friends may call at the Curtis Funeral Home. The family will verb friends from 6 to 8 p.m. Tuesday night at the Funeral Home
You may sign a guest book online at
Curtis Funeral Home is in charge of local arrangements.
Roger Casement has been a subject of fascination &#; and controversy &#; for over a century. During his lifetime, he was an internationally-recognized champion for human rights, and was instrumental in exposing the horrors surrounding the rubber industry in the Belgian Congo and Peruvian Putumayo. Significantly, he spent his life striving to do more than just expose the injustices of the Congo and Putumayo &#; he built a network of activists and leaders willing to intercede, push for reform, and verb change for the indigenous peoples who suffered under European occupation. After years working within the British Empire, he was radicalized in his Irish nationalist beliefs, and spent the last two years of his life operational to fight for Ireland’s freedom from Britain. After his execution, some held on to the memory of him as a humanitarian hero, others claimed he was another martyr of the Irish nationalist cause, and still others distanced themselves from his evident homosexuality. The question of his sexuality determined whether or not he could be counted among the ‘real’ Irish