Old Blue

During the 70's, 80's, and 90's (before Lupron was commonly used), I saw many men (patients) who had had their balls cut off in treating prostate cancer. They generally didn't like it. 
Interestingly, hot flashes was often their presenting complaint.     I retired from the practice of Internal Medicine in 2006 so I admittedly am not up to date.   Perhaps I should have written "but chemical castration is now generally preferred."   When I went to get the results of my prostate biopsy in 2008, my urologist informed me of my Gleason score 9 results on all biopsies and gave me my first Lupron injection before I left the room.   We didn't spend a lot of time discussing the pros and cons of having my balls cut off instead.   Ironically, I retired in 2006 and was diagnosed with prostate cancer in 2008.   Such is life.  

The worst aspect is that prostate cancer feeds on testosterone.  Treatment therefore often includes medication to (1) block endogenous production of testosterone (chemical castration) and (2) block the effect of testosterone.
Not too long ago, treatment of prostate cancer included surgical castration (orchiectomy) but chemical castration is now preferred.   Life without testosterone can be radically different.  Reduced or absent libido, loss of muscle mass, increase in fat, depression, and hot flashes are but some of the unpleasant results.    I experienced all of the above back in 2008-2009 when I turned up with a Gleason 9 (on a scale of 1-10 with 10 being the most aggressive) prostate cancer on 8 out of 8 biopsies.    Prognosis was bleak and surgery was out of the question.  I fortunately became enrolled in an NIH clinical trial consisting of radiation followed by chemotherapy over the course of 9 months.  Lost all  my hair but best thing I did was hire a trainer and go to the gym 3 times a week to minimize muscle loss.  This also enhanced my sense of well being immensely.      My cancer went into remission and remains in remission.  But definite changes in my life remain.  Think Alan Turing on a less extreme scale.  Still I'm thankful to be alive. 

The worst aspect is that prostate cancer feeds on testosterone.  Treatment therefore often includes medication to (1) block endogenous production of testosterone (chemical castration) and (2) block the effect of testosterone.
Not too long ago, treatment of prostate cancer included surgical castration (orchiectomy) but chemical castration is now preferred.   Life without testosterone can be radically different.  Reduced or absent libido, loss of muscle mass, increase in fat, depression, and hot flashes are but some of the unpleasant results.    I experienced all of the above back in 2008-2009 when I turned up with a Gleason 9 (on a scale of 1-10 with 10 being the most aggressive) prostate cancer on 8 out of 8 biopsies.    Prognosis was bleak and surgery was out of the question.  I fortunately became enrolled in an NIH clinical trial consisting of radiation followed by chemotherapy over the course of 9 months.  Lost all  my hair but best thing I did was hire a trainer and go to the gym 3 times a week to minimize muscle loss.  This also enhanced my sense of well being immensely.      My cancer went into remission and remains in remission.  But definite changes in my life remain.  Think Alan Turing on a less extreme scale.  Still I'm thankful to be alive. 

The worst aspect is that prostate cancer feeds on testosterone.  Treatment therefore often includes medication to (1) block endogenous production of testosterone (chemical castration) and (2) block the effect of testosterone.
Not too long ago, treatment of prostate cancer included surgical castration (orchiectomy) but chemical castration is now preferred.   Life without testosterone can be radically different.  Reduced or absent libido, loss of muscle mass, increase in fat, depression, and hot flashes are but some of the unpleasant results.    I experienced all of the above back in 2008-2009 when I turned up with a Gleason 9 (on a scale of 1-10 with 10 being the most aggressive) prostate cancer on 8 out of 8 biopsies.    Prognosis was bleak and surgery was out of the question.  I fortunately became enrolled in an NIH clinical trial consisting of radiation followed by chemotherapy over the course of 9 months.  Lost all  my hair but best thing I did was hire a trainer and go to the gym 3 times a week to minimize muscle loss.  This also enhanced my sense of well being immensely.      My cancer went into remission and remains in remission.  But definite changes in my life remain.  Think Alan Turing on a less extreme scale.  Still I'm thankful to be alive. 

HIV has been much more disastrous.
1.  It has killed more people.   Only because the transmission vehicle is so different, has it taken 30 years to kill 36 million people.   If HIV was a highly transmissible respiratory virus, it would have killed that 36m in a very short time.
2.  Because the gov'ts of the world were so slow to respond, it took over 1 year to even identify that (a) it was a virus and (b) it was sexually transmitted; COVID was identified in days to weeks.
3.  Investments in education, research and treatments have been and continue to be slow to come.   Were this a disease that affected the general public, things would have been much quicker.
4.  30 years since discovery of AIDS there is still no vaccine, no cure.  In part due to the nature of the virus itself, but also in part due to the ongoing lack of investment by government and industry in research and treatments.   Our response to COVID has been markedly different.
5.  For 15 years, there was no effective treatment for HIV.   Everyone who contracted the disease died, and in most cases a slow and torturous death.
6.  There is little or no stigma associated with COVID. 
7.  As opposed to COVID, the gov't is not paying for treatments.   HIV medications remain outrageously expensive making them difficult to obtain for many.
HIV remains a case study in the role that bias plays in medial research and funding.  When a disease affects a majority marginalized population, the urgency the public will just aren't there.
HIV will benefit from COVID, the MRNA approach to develop a vaccine will almost certainly develop a vaccine and/or treatment for HIV and perhaps quite soon.   That's good news, but again the huge sums of money and resources invested in MRNA research was targeted specifically to develop a response to Coronavirus variants (including SARS and now COVID).
The response to these 2 pandemics are vastly different and for one reason only:  the populations affected. 
 

Huckleberry Finn by Mark Twain
On the Road by Jack Kerouac
Both are chock full of exciting adventures set against a backdrop of constantly changing locations and environments.  
Rereading enables me to meet again with old friends and vicariously relive our adventures.  

Is he wearing Brandi Chastain’s old sports bra??? 😀

Huckleberry Finn by Mark Twain
On the Road by Jack Kerouac
Both are chock full of exciting adventures set against a backdrop of constantly changing locations and environments.  
Rereading enables me to meet again with old friends and vicariously relive our adventures.  

Huckleberry Finn by Mark Twain
On the Road by Jack Kerouac
Both are chock full of exciting adventures set against a backdrop of constantly changing locations and environments.  
Rereading enables me to meet again with old friends and vicariously relive our adventures.  

My mistake, but when I read the thread title, my first thought was, "That's an awful name for a provider to pick!"

This thread is why, long ago, I wrote this article for the San Francisco Chronicle: there's often that one thing that makes us think, "well, maybe men?"
 
https://www.sfgate.com/opinion/article/Brokeback-breach-for-repressed-men-Film-s-2524151.php
 

Tom Robinson Band sings Glad To Be Gay - recorded in 1977. 
 

In chronological (somewhat, at least. from what I could recall as of right now) order...
Shirtless neighbors playing basketball in my subdivision The men's undershirt and underwear aisles in the mall The hot men and bed scenes in Thalia's television shows (Maria Mercedes-93, Marimar-94, Maria LaDel Barrio-95) Shirtless Filipino actors and models doing production numbers, in TV shows, music videos, or movies. Brad Pitt in Meet Joe Black, Fight Club, Troy, and Mr. and Mrs. Smith (okay really in anything he was shirtless on)
Obsessive fandom of ANTM (even more so with Nyle DiMarco's and Matthew Smith's seasons) and Project Runway
Dante's Cove and Eating Out series Jude and Zero's love scenes on Hit the Floor Boyfriend.tv, PornHub, Subscription Sites (ND, SC, CF, Men, RS, NS), and OF RM and RentMasseur How about you?

Androkid (presumably an assortment of medications, barely in his 20's if that),
Rod Roddick (unspecified heart disease)
Billy Herrington (car accident)
Campus dancers (Ricky, Ray)
 
Fond memories.

We just had Christmas, and here we go already with a resurrection story.

Slightly off topic, but I remember Marlin Perkins with fondness:
 

Thank you, but I'm thinking of trying the Trump Covid plan... one day my health problems will just disappear. It'll be like a miracle. In fact, I think I'm turning the corner right now.

This year, the charity I contribute most to is the local food bank.
 
More people need--and use--this service than ever before.

This year, the charity I contribute most to is the local food bank.
 
More people need--and use--this service than ever before.

This year, the charity I contribute most to is the local food bank.
 
More people need--and use--this service than ever before.

This year, the charity I contribute most to is the local food bank.
 
More people need--and use--this service than ever before.

In terms of "songs that inspire existential tears" (as called for in the original post to this thread), here's one that may qualify:
 

Multiple personality disorder? If a new add uses the name Sybil, I'd stay away.

An escort I hired many years ago while visiting Colorado Springs later appeared on TV as the escort who outed Ted Haggard in 2006. Ted Haggard, the pastor of a large church in Colorado Springs and president of the National Association of Evangelicals, had hired the escort over three years and once even asked him to procure some crystal meth to use. When the escort was in the gym one day, he happened to see Ted Haggard on TV excoriating gays and decided to publicly out him. All of this was reported by Jon Stewart who used interviews by Richard Dawkins to expose Ted Haggard's hypocrisy. The escort is incidentally pictured in the last half of the segment:

An escort I hired many years ago while visiting Colorado Springs later appeared on TV as the escort who outed Ted Haggard in 2006. Ted Haggard, the pastor of a large church in Colorado Springs and president of the National Association of Evangelicals, had hired the escort over three years and once even asked him to procure some crystal meth to use. When the escort was in the gym one day, he happened to see Ted Haggard on TV excoriating gays and decided to publicly out him. All of this was reported by Jon Stewart who used interviews by Richard Dawkins to expose Ted Haggard's hypocrisy. The escort is incidentally pictured in the last half of the segment: