Navigating LGBTQ+ Cancer Care: Best Organizations for Support
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Navigating the healthcare system as a sexual or gender minority can be challenging under the best of circumstances, never mind when faced with a potentially life-changing diagnosis like cancer. That’s why it’s important to find advocates who can help you understand the types of cancers that affect the LGBTQ+ community, as well as help you assess your personal risk factors, get the screening tests you need, find the right cancer doctors, and hold your hand through treatment if you need it. Here’s a list of some of the best organizations out there.
National LGBT Cancer Network
This multifaceted organization tries to cover all the bases for the community. “We see our approach as three-pronged,” says deputy director Chelbye McIntyre, explaining that their priorities are (1) educating LGBTQ+ people about their unique cancer risks and how to access critical screening, (2) training providers to be sensitive to the needs of this population, and (3) advocating for LGBTQ+ cancer survivors in all spaces. The network offers peer support groups and sponsors research partnerships that allow LGBTQ+ people to find clinical trials or participate in scientific studies.
The network is also unique in that it hosts its own health initiatives. For example, it’s home to the Tobacco-Related Cancer Project, which is funded by the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC). According to the network, 1 out of 6 people in the general population uses cigarettes, while 1 out of 5 in the LGBTQ+ population does. For transgender people, the number may be greater than 1 out of 3.
To reduce these numbers, the Tobacco-Related Cancer Project works with partners such as state and local health departments to spread the word to LGBTQ+ people about the dangers of smoking. It also makes sure this population is included in grant programs designed to help people stop smoking.
Visit the National LGBT Cancer Network to learn more.
Malecare
Run by oncologists, psychologists, and social workers, this nonprofit group stresses peer-to-peer support for gay and bisexual men diagnosed with prostate cancer, with a special focus on underserved populations such as Black American men.
Although it has its roots in LGBTQ+ cancer care, Malecare offers a wealth of information on how prostate cancer can affect any man, and it sponsors support groups for tens of thousands of patients of all sexual orientations and at all stages. Participants can choose from among groups dedicated to gay men with prostate cancer, early-stage prostate cancer patients, late-stage prostate cancer patients, people with erectile dysfunction, and even caregivers and partners of people with cancer.
Malecare’s focus is on prostate cancer, but it also provides resources for other types of cancer that can strike men, such as breast cancer, which affects about 2,800 men each year in the United States, according to the American Cancer Society.
Visit Malecare to learn more.
National LGBT Cancer Project
Claiming to be the nation’s first national LGBTQ+ cancer survival support and advocacy group, this organization has expanded to serve roughly 18,000 people every year. The group grew out of Malecare, the above-mentioned organization providing education and help for men with prostate and other cancers.
According to social worker and founder Darryl Mitteldorf, as Malecare began helping more and more men, he and his colleagues decided to focus on the needs of the LGBTQ+ population as a whole. They widened the scope of their efforts, bringing in female clinicians and social workers to serve women, transgender people, and intersex individuals, along with their initial clientele.
Mitteldorf says one of the benefits of the project is that it helps people understand the unique ways cancer can present in LGBTQ+ people. For instance, transgender women may not realize they’re suffering from prostate cancer because they aren’t necessarily focused on their prostate. And once they realize they have a problem, these clients often need help navigating the healthcare system.
“When speaking to a health care provider, they don’t know what questions to ask,” Mitteldorf says, adding that the tension is compounded by feelings of awkwardness during the visit, which may begin in the waiting room while they’re surrounded by cisgender men.
Once cancer is diagnosed, the goal of the National LGBT Cancer Project is to help clients deal with the sexual, social, and physical challenges of the condition; find well-trained providers who have experience with LGBTQ+ patients; locate relevant clinical trials; and connect patients with support groups as they embark on their journey.
Visit the National LGBT Cancer Project to learn more.
GLMA
Need a doctor or other healthcare provider who is well versed in the needs of the LGBTQ+ population? Look no further than GLMA, an organization committed to advancing health equity for LGBTQ+ people, including those with cancer. The organization offers one of the largest searchable provider databases in the nation.
“In order to be listed in the directory, providers create their own profiles, and in order to do so must affirm their commitment to equality for LGBTQ+ patients,” says Alex Sheldon, GLMA’s executive director. “And many of the providers in the directory are GLMA members.”
Among GLMA’s numerous organizational partnerships is its collaboration with the U.S. Preventive Services Task Force, a volunteer panel of experts in disease prevention and evidence-based medicine. According to Sheldon, GLMA provides a sexual and gender minority perspective to the task force, which this year meant including LGBTQ+ oncologists’ advice when compiling recommendations for cancer screenings.
Visit GLMA to learn more.
American Cancer Society
This long-established nationwide nonprofit offers a wide variety of resources for LGBTQ+ people and their families. The organization’s website features an array of educational materials on the particular cancer risks faced by this population, and also offers a searchable database of resources that can connect you with everything from financial help to housing during treatment.
The American Cancer Society’s Cancer Action Network, which advocates for cancer patients at all levels of government, has an LGBTQ+ Allies Engagement Group. This group draws people looking to create policies that reduce health disparities in the LGBTQ+ community. Allies attend Pride events around the nation to network, partner with other groups, and circulate petitions for changes that benefit LGBTQ+ people with cancer.
Visit the American Cancer Society to learn more.
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