Transgender People and Breast Cancer

[Shana A]

Transgender People and Breast Cancer

http://transgenderequality.wordpress.com/2010/10/29/transgender-people-and-breast-cancer/

October is Breast Cancer Awareness Month, a time dedicated to educating the public about breast cancer and raising money for research on the disease's cause, prevention, and cure.

snip

How does breast cancer affect transgender individuals?

There is not nearly enough research on how transgender people are affected by breast cancer or any other disease but those who work on transgender health note the following:

    * For a transgender woman, the risk of breast cancer increases following breast development and five or more years of hormone therapy.
    * For a transgender man, excessive testosterone can be converted into estrogen by the body, which leads to increased cancer risk. Additionally, transgender men may feel uncomfortable with either self-exams or medical exams, and may not realize that top surgery does not remove all breast tissue. Self-examination is a useful prevention tool that can be life-saving, regardless of a person's gender.

[Mrs Erocse]

Thank you for posting this. It is good to know. 

[Aidan_]

Indeed. Just because we started male doesn't mean we're immune to breast cancer. I hope everyone can learn to eat healthier and live better so this doesn't happen to them.

[Muffin]

I think it would be interesting to see results of this study a little closer like the different hormone regimes that are possible and the different effects of all those.. if there are any.

[A]

I've read that transgender women should not worry too much about breast cancer, as while their breast cancer risk does go up, the lowering of the prostate cancer compensates for it. Was it a lie ?

[kyril]

Not exactly a lie so much as misleading.

Yes, the lowering of prostate cancer risk does, in a sense, compensate for the increase in breast cancer risk, in a sense. That is, your overall cancer risk is more or less unaffected because you will have a higher risk of breast cancer than before but a lower risk of prostate cancer.

However, that doesn't mean you shouldn't worry about breast cancer. Like any woman, you'll need to be screened periodically, especially as you get older.

[A]

Okay, but we don't have to get checked more often than cis-women, right ?

[Erica L.]

Here's a great link to the American Cancer Society's comments on the subject.

http://www.glbthealth.org/documents/FactSheetRevised-TransgenderedIndividuals.pdf

[rite_of_inversion]

Here's a great link to the American Cancer Society's comments on the subject.

http://www.glbthealth.org/documents/FactSheetRevised-TransgenderedIndividuals.pdf

Oh great!!! it says that my wife should probably have a mammogram AND a prostate exam!

Um...Houston, we have a problem...getting her to the doctor about anything at all if she's not flamingly ill is hard as heck...much less to check on certain...bits that she'd rather not have come equipped with...and the check involves a doctor putting a finger WHERE?!?!?!?!?!?!?!?!

Oh.   Mah.   GAWD.

I still haven't gotten her to do something about her high blood pressure...