Archive for LGBT Cancer

The Incidence of Ovarian Cancer In Transgender Individuals
(reviewed January 2013)
Joleen Krupa is a writer based in California state who works for the website Radiation Therapy Schools.

The incidence of ovarian cancer among transgender individuals must be closely monitored and aggressively treated if the cancer is detected in that population. Transgender individuals who have undergone an operation changing their sex from female to male are facing the additional obstacle of being diagnosed with ovarian cancer, a serious condition formerly confined just to women’s health. This is a particularly difficult situation for the affected individuals, as ovarian cancer is generally only diagnosed as part of a woman’s annual wellness exam and PAP-smear.

While generally men do not have these “female” tests, men who still have female reproductive organs must take steps to safeguard their health. An individual must realize and accept that any health risks associated with the birth gender are still threats.

This condition is a pernicious one in women generally due to its asymptomatic nature. There are usually no presenting symptoms to indicate the existence of the disease which would prompt the affected individual to seek treatment, or even well-woman health care. The transgender population as a whole must have its consciousness raised to make it more alert to the risk of developing this form of cancer. Early detection of this form of cancer provides the sufferer more treatment options and should be pursued.

Transgender people are not prone to keep up with common wellness screens associated with their birth gender. This reluctance often prevents those individuals from detecting ovarian cancer in transgender individuals. As ovarian cancer is common in the female population as a whole, ovarian cancer in transgender individuals must be tested for and aggressively diagnosed to protect members of that population who are at risk.

Ovarian cancer in transgender individuals has proven difficult to diagnose due to the lack of readily-available diagnostic tests for that population. Any societal stigma which may challenge transgender people may prevent that population from engaging in life-saving diagnostic tests which could provide for early detection and treatment of the condition.

Absence of an active support system in the transgender community for individuals diagnosed with ovarian cancer is a further impediment to providing diagnostic services and care in the event that such disease is found. The transgender community as a whole must rally behind its members with such a serious diagnosis and must oversee the availability of treatment and support.

The transgender community must see to it that there are viable treatment options available to members of the community. Ovarian cancer in transgender individuals must be fought head-on by community members and their medical support network. Access to proper care must not be denied simply due to any stigma associated with the sufferers. Availability of diagnostic and treatment centers must exist for incidents of ovarian cancer in transgender individuals in order that this disease may be eradicated as is being attempted for other ovarian cancer survivors.

Comments (1)

The Obama administration is set, today, to issue policy guidance to states expanding their ability to offer same-sex couples the same protections afforded to straight couples when they receive long-term care under Medicaid, the Washington Blade has learned exclusively.” According to “the new guidance, dated June 10, states have the option to allow healthy partners in a same-sex relationship to keep their homes while their partners are receiving support for long-term care under Medicaid, such as care in a nursing home.” HHS Secretary Kathleen Sebelius said about the policy change, “Low-income same-sex couples are too often denied equal treatment and the protections offered to other families in their greatest times of need. .. Today’s guidance represents another important step toward ensuring the rights and dignity of every American are respected by their government.

Comments (1)
May
25

LGBT Cultural Competency

Posted by: | Comments (0)

LGBT Cultural Competency is critical for helping Gay, Lesbian, Transgender and Bisexual cancer patients. Contact us at info@lgbtcancer.org or at 212-673-4920 for more information on how you can be LGBT Culturally Competent.

The National LGBT Cancer Project – Out With Cancer, has a new Facebook page! Now, all Lesbian, Gay, Bisexual and Transgender cancer survivors and their allies have a welcoming Facebook page to meet on and post to. Please show your support for this new initiative by visiting http://tinyurl.com/294oln7 and clicking Please “like” LG “Like.” http://tinyurl.com/294oln7

LGBT cancer survivors find peer support on http://www.outwithcancer.org . Out With
Cancer’s online support community is password protected, open 24/7, and free.
Professionally managed by oncology social workers. Now entering it’s fifth year, many
hundreds of cancer survivor’s from our community have found health tips, hope and new
friends in their efforts to live longer and happier lives, past the diagnosis of cancer.

Jun
10

Sex Marker on US passports

Posted by: | Comments (0)

Beginning today, when a passport applicant presents a doctor’s certification that he or she has undergone treatment for gender transition, their passport will be updated to accurately reflect their sex. Sex reassignment surgery is no longer required to change the gender on an American passport. Read More→

Categories : LGBT Cancer
Comments (0)

Gay men are banned from blood and bone marrow donations in the United States and Canada.  Aside from inequity, this impacts directly on the survival of cancer patients seeking bone marrow or blood donations from matching gay relatives.  It is time to change the policy for all men who have sex with men.


From an article in CMAJ (Canadian Medical Association Journal:  Since 1983, blood agencies in Canada, the United States and other industrialized countries have disallowed blood donations from men who have sex with men because of the possibility of infection with HIV/AIDS. The exclusion barred men who had sex with men from 1977 onwards as it was determined this date preceded the start of the AIDS epidemic. Read More→

Comments (0)

Out With Cancer’s “Please Ask/Please Tell” campaign launches today, encouraging LGBT Cancer Survivors and all Health Care providers to be open about risk, diagnosis, morbidity and outcomes related to Lesbian, Gay, Bisexual and Transgender cancer survivorship.

Categories : LGBT Cancer
Comments (0)
Sep
27

Female to Male Ovarian Cancer

Posted by: | Comments (0)

Ovarian Cancer:
· Female-to-male transgendered and transsexual individuals are at a higher risk of ovarian Read More→

Categories : LGBT Cancer
Comments (0)

Cancer Disparities:
Breast Cancer:
· There are no studies of the incidence of breast cancer in transsexual or transgender
individuals. Read More→

Comments (8)