Ryvan

Why did your mother and sister go to China without you?

Physically yes, but mentally?

Ignoring the fact that that book was published almost 30 years ago (the one from the data you are citing not the little media article) and so might not be an accurate reflection of today's couples, the article you are referring to has many other glaring problems. The main one had to do with the participants possible interpretation of the word 'sex' and the connotation it has with penetration. Have a look under the 'criticisms' section of the wiki page for it: wiki It might be a wiki but it's a good place to start to learn how to question the experiments you cite. If participants were thinking of sex in the more narrow sense (not even PIV but perhaps any sort of penetration) then the results are meaningless outside of simply saying gay couples engage in more penetration than straight or lesbian couples.
When I was doing my undergrad we actually used that experiment as a teaching tool for learning how to read, understand, and think critically about methodology and interpretation of the results. If you go into reading the article with a biased perception of how gender and desire for sex works it's very easy not to think critically about the interpretation of the results or even how the survey/experimental design was set up. I don't mean this as an attack on you, simply as a point.

Edit for spelling

Your dad had to get the surgery too? Is the condition genetic?

many people I presume would rather live with UC than have their entire colon removed

If your colitis progresses to the point your GI recommends surgery then typically the surgery results in a huge increase in the quality of your life. The crippling pain, obstructions, inflammation, and shitting blood 15 times a day ends, and you can start to focus on gaining weight and you can start to get your life back together. Sure, it doesn't look pretty (and that is one of the hardest things to overcome) and it isn't always easy to deal with but if it gets to that point it is better.

I totally agree that it isn't a cure though. To say that it is is so frustrating to those of us who have colitis.