{"id":46608,"date":"2024-05-01T12:00:00","date_gmt":"2024-05-01T12:00:00","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.cancer.gov\/news-events\/cancer-currents-blog\/2024\/cancer-care-challenges-lgbtq-plus-people"},"modified":"2024-11-03T15:11:51","modified_gmt":"2024-11-03T15:11:51","slug":"qa-learning-about-the-cancer-care-challenges-lgbtq-people-face","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/ogkologos.com\/en\/qa-learning-about-the-cancer-care-challenges-lgbtq-people-face\/","title":{"rendered":"Q&A: Learning About the Cancer Care Challenges LGBTQ+ People Face"},"content":{"rendered":"

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LGBTQ+ people with cancer can face unexpected questions from health care providers and health insurance companies during their care.<\/p>\n

Credit: iStock<\/p>\n<\/p><\/div>\n<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n<\/p><\/div>\n

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Sexual and gender minority (SGM) people who are being treated for cancer may experience certain challenges. In this Q&A, Gwendolyn Quinn, Ph.D., a health psychologist at New York University Perlmutter Cancer Center and part of the center\u2019s LGBTQ+ Cancer Care and Research Program, describes some of those challenges and ways to address them.<\/p>\n

This Q&A has an accompanying story on efforts to expand research on sexual and gender minority groups and cancer<\/a>.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n

You conducted one of the first surveys asking oncologists about their knowledge, attitudes, and practice behaviors towards sexual and gender minority individuals. What did you learn?<\/h3>\n

The oncologists we surveyed had limited knowledge about the health needs of sexual and gender minority people. Some of those surveyed expressed the idea, \u201cI\u2019m a good doctor, and I treat all my patients the same. I don\u2019t need to know this information to treat them well.\u201d But we know that information about a person\u2019s sexual orientation and gender identity can be helpful during cancer care. Our survey also found a lack of comfort in treating transgender individuals, and the reason for this was a lack of training.<\/p>\n

Are health care providers today trained in how to care for SGM patients?<\/h3>\n

People who went to medical school more than a decade ago got very little, if any, training about the LGBTQ+ community in general and, more specifically, transgender and nonbinary people. The good news is that most of the oncologists we surveyed expressed interest in learning more about the unique health needs of LGBTQ+ patients. We are planning a follow-up survey to see how things have changed in the 5 years since our earlier survey.<\/p>\n