Maggie Lopez and Patt Cianciullo have been partners for six years and are married in Cianciullo’s home state of Connecticut. Now living in Atlanta, they have spent the last two years coping with cancer through faith, hope and humor.
Cianciullo was no stranger to caring for a cancer patient when Lopez was diagnosed with breast cancer in October 2010.
“Patt was with her one and only other partner for 25 years and for the last 12 years of her life, she battled the highest and rarest form of ovarian cancer. … Patt’s experience from that was a tremendous help to me when I was first diagnosed with breast cancer,” Lopez said.
As the author of a book titled “The Unapologetic Fat Girl's Guide to Exercise,” Hanne Blank is not one to make a New Year's resolution to lose 10, 15, 20 or however many pounds. She reads and signs this book at Charis Books & More on Jan. 5 at 7:30 p.m.
The event is sponsored by Charis Circle's Founding Future of Feminism Program and a $5 suggested donation is asked.
Blank is one to encourage movement, though, and learning to love and respect the body you have.
She is the author of other books including “Straight: The Surprisingly Short Story of Heterosexuality,” “Big Big Love: Relationships Guides for People of Size (And People Who Love Them) as well as an editor of “Best Transgender Erotica.” She is also a classically trained musician and has taught at Brandeis University and Tufts University.
In other words, she knows her stuff.
Discrimination doesn’t just stand in the way of civil rights for lesbian, gay, bisexual and transgender people. In some cases, it may actually contribute to making us sick.
“I think that we can legitimately call homophobia a health hazard,” said Linda Ellis, executive director of the Health Initiative, the new Atlanta-based organization that aims to be “Georgia’s voice for LGBTQ health.”
“Whether it is because of actual discrimination expressed by an uncaring provider or the internalized dread of what might happen in the vulnerable setting of a doctor’s exam room, LGBT individuals are still less likely to seek healthcare,” she said.