Teen ready for next step in gender transition
After a lifetime spent in and out of hospital, Angus Coleman has found himself once again preparing for surgery – but this time it’s on his terms.
The 19-year-old, who came out as transgender after finishing high school in Wellington, will early next year undergo top surgery, also known as a double mastectomy, to remove his breasts.
‘‘As soon as I left school, I knew this was what I wanted to do so I’ve just been working as hard as I can, earning that money.’’
The cost of the surgery, when done in a private facility, is around the $20,000 mark. It can be done through New Zealand’s public health system but that comes with a long wait time.
‘‘If you’re going fully funded, the wait time for me was estimated at like 30 years, which just doesn’t make sense – I can save for five years and just get it done,’’ Coleman said.
He had already saved $10,000 in just a couple of years working as a chef and, to keep the momentum going, he had recently started a givea-little campaign to cover any potential shortfall.
As part of his fundraising efforts, he had organised a rock benefit gig for tomorrow, with all proceeds going towards his surgery.
The expensive procedure, known as female-to-male top surgery, will mean Coleman’s breast tissue will be removed before chest contouring is done, to create a flat, masculine appearance.
While a fairly invasive surgery with several months of recovery time needed, Coleman said it was nothing compared to his previous experiences in the health system.
‘‘I had cancer when I was 16 months old, so went through chemo[therapy] and ended up having an early puberty. Even then I remember telling my mum I wanted a breast reduction.’’
While that part of his life had been unpleasant, it had put him in good stead to navigate this latest journey.
‘‘I was actually set up with an endocrinologist back when I was diagnosed with langerhans cell histiocytosis [rare cancer], which is actually the doctor you need to see to get hormones prescribed. It was almost meant to be.’’
However, because of his medical history, seeking cheaper treatment overseas was out of the question.
‘‘Lots of stuff can go wrong and aftercare will have to be more extensive . . . if I could have done it overseas, I already would have.’’
While the system had been easy enough to navigate for the young Wellingtonian, Coleman was keenly aware that it wasn’t often the case for others seeking similar surgeries.
‘‘It’s actually really hard for people who haven’t had previous medical experience to get on hormones because you have to go through a prepsych assessment, see an endocrinologist and get another psych assessment but because doctors have been following my whole life until now, they know everything about me, how I live.
‘‘It’s a blessing from a curse.’’