Learning about the cancer lived experiences of transgender persons and the current state of the oncology care in N.L.

Cancer can affect anyone — the current estimates are that around 43 per cent of us will be diagnosed with cancer in Canada.

Access to timely and effective information and health care is critical to prevent, early detect, and successfully treat cancer. These are, in turn, supposed to help improve our outcomes and well-being; reduce cancer’s impact on us, our families, communities, and health-care system; and overall make us a healthier population.

We all are aware of the constraints in the current healthcare system. But imagine being part of a marginalized community that is under-served compared to the rest of the population. A report of the Standing Committee on Health published in 2019 indicated that 2SLGBTQIA+ folks are one of the under-served groups and they experience health inequities. In Canada, there are around one million residents identifying as a member of the 2SLGBTQIA+ community. Around 60,000 of them are transgender Canadians.

A part of this transgender

lniveds community in our province. They are an important part of our communities, and social and workplace circles. Yet, there are social and medical barriers, limiting the opportunities for them, including in cancer care. This year, we (The Public Interest Group on Cancer Research, https://strength-in-community.ca/public-interest-groupon-cancer/) initiated a new partnership with Quadrangle NL, a very active local organization for the 2SLGBTQIA+ community, to raise awareness about cancer in the transgender community.

For this purpose, we are organizing a virtual and free public event on May 16, 2024 (between 6:30-8:45 p.m.). In this event, the participants will be able to screen a documentary named Trans Dudes with Lady Cancer (https:// www.transdudeswithladycancer.org/) created by two transgender individuals affected by cancer, followed by a panel discussion including transgender individuals with a history of cancer, physicians, and an advocate from Newfoundland and Labrador.

During this event, we hope that we all will learn more about cancer and cancer in transgender individuals, the lived experiences – both in the international and local contexts, and the status of the current cancer services available to the transgender community in N.L.

We hope that you will participate in this event. Participation is free and requires registration. Please register here: https://www.med.mun. ca/oped/programs/4742.

Thank you and we hope to see you there!

Sevtap Savas, PHD – Memorial University of Newfoundland Jocshan M. Loaiza, BSC – Memorial University of Newfoundland Charlie Murphy, Executive Director, Quadrangle N