"As, Dr. Bill Lipsky noted in his 2022 remembrance for the San Francisco Bay Times, Campbell had been diagnosed with Kaposi's sarcoma (KS) the previous October, becoming just the 16th person in the city to be diagnosed with the rare form of skin cancer that was suddenly popping up among young men. During those early days of the epidemic, before doctors identified HIV and AIDS, patients like Campbell were described as having "gay cancer.""
"According to Lipsky, following his diagnosis, Campbell parlayed his experience as a nurse specializing in gay health issues into raising awareness about the so-called "gay cancer." "I've become so active in publicizing KS and the other gay illnesses to friends and media that I've taken to referring to myself sardonically as the 'Kaposi's Sarcoma Poster Boy,' Campbell wrote in that first Sentinel column, titled "I Will Survive.""
In the early 1980s AIDS devastated the U.S. gay community while celebrities largely avoided the cause and many HIV-positive people hesitated to disclose their diagnosis. Bobbi Campbell, a San Francisco nurse and gay-rights activist, was diagnosed with Kaposi's sarcoma in October and became the 16th person in the city identified with the rare skin cancer. Campbell publicly disclosed his condition in a December 1981 column, created a poster showing his KS lesions with contact information for support, and used his nurse background to raise awareness, adopting the moniker 'Kaposi's Sarcoma Poster Boy.' Zelda Rubenstein appeared in an AIDS-prevention poster campaign promoting safer sex.
Read at LGBTQ Nation
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