On 2 March 2020, a letter was published in the Journal of Clinical Oncology, “Protecting Transgender and Gender-Diverse Patients With Cancer in a Shifting Political Landscape”.

The following are some imporant excerpts from the editoral:

In May 2019, the US Department of Health and Human Services (HHS) first proposed a regulatory reform to eliminate federal protections against health care discrimination on the basis of gender identity in Section 1557 of the Patient Protection and Affordable Care Act. […]

The burden of these changes will undoubtedly be felt by the LGBT community as a whole and represent especially imminent threats to the safety and health of our country’s TGD people, including those with cancer. Within this context, we urge the oncology community to commit collectively to protecting and promoting the rights of our TGD patients to receive high-quality and inclusive cancer care. […]

As federal protections evolve, state and local regulations become increasingly important. At a minimum, hospitals and other health care facilities should aim to have nondiscrimination statements and a Patient Bill of Rights that explicitly protect gender identity and expression. […]

With that in mind, we call on oncology providers and cancer center administrators to support ASCO’s position statement and to collaborate with TGD community stakeholders as equitable partners to assess the accessibility of oncologic care at their institutions. Such collaborations will lead to the development of ethical and just policies that both prohibit gender identity and expression discrimination and foster more inclusive and affirming experiences in cancer care to increase access and improve outcomes. […]

The authors of this piece were:

  • Elizabeth S. Tarras, MD; NYU School of Medicine
  • Ash B. Alpert, MD, MFA; Wilmot Cancer Institute; University of Rochester
  • Elliot Kennedy, JD; Health and Human Services
  • Amani Sampson, BA; NYU School of Medicine
  • Megan E. Sutter, PhD; NYU School of Medicine
  • Gwendolyn P. Quinn, PhD; NYU School of Medicine

To read the entire letter visit Protecting Transgender and Gender-Diverse Patients With Cancer in a Shifting Political Landscape.

A PDF copy for download is also available.