The New York Times, considered the “paper of record” in the U.S. “Rare Cancer Seen in 41 Homosexuals,” the headline read in the article by Lawrence K.
Altman, published July 3, 1981, on page 20 of the front section.The rare cancer was Kaposi’s sarcoma, usually seen in people over 50, but these cases were in younger men, many of them under 40.
They were sexually active gay and bi men, although the paper didn’t use the term “gay” at the time. The men often reported having multiple partners and using recreational drugs to enhance their sexual pleasure.
And they were dying quickly — eight of them within 24 months of their KS diagnosis.The same day Altman’s article came out, the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention published coverage of.