LGBTIQ+ friendly breast cancer services

LGBTIQ+ friendly treating teams provide services that are welcoming and inclusive for you and your partner/s or chosen family. They are also knowledgeable about your needs as an LGBTIQ+ person with breast cancer.

It is not always easy to tell if your treating team will be LGBTIQ+ friendly. Here are some ways you can find out.

What does LGBTIQ+ friendly mean?

LGBTIQ+ friendly treating teams should acknowledge and respect your sexual orientation, gender and intersex variations. They should include your partner/s or other chosen family in consultations and decision-making. They should support you and your chosen family with compassion and openness. LGBTIQ+ friendly treatment should happen across all of a health service. This includes interactions with reception staff, nurses, doctors and other members of the treating team.

LGBTIQ+ friendly treating teams should welcome and accept all LGBTIQ+ people. They should help you to feel seen and heard. This can make it easier for you to come out if you want to. They should respond supportively when they find out you are LGBTIQ+. See Disclosure: Sharing information about your sexual orientation or gender with your treating team.

LGBTIQ+ friendly treating teams should have the knowledge and skills to tailor your care plan to your needs. This means you can feel safe and comfortable asking questions about how breast cancer might affect you as a LGBTIQ+ person.

Finding LGBTIQ+ friendly services

There may be some easy to see clues

Look for visible signs that your treating team is LGBTIQ+ friendly. This could include rainbow or pride flags in the waiting or consultation rooms, or on the website of the service. You may also see stickers or signs that say “Welcome here”, “ Rainbow Tick”, “ Yellow Tick” or “Ally” and posters or pamphlets with LGBTIQ+ health information.

Ask for recommendations

You can ask your GP for a referral to an LGBTIQ+ friendly treating team. Many LGBTIQ+ friendly GPs will have a network of other professionals to refer you to. Another great place to start is by asking your LGBTIQ+ friends for their recommendations. You can also join online cancer support groups and LGBTIQ+ forums to find out about LGBTIQ+ friendly treating teams. See Social support for LGBTIQ+ people with breast cancer

Before your first appointment

Before your first appointment it can be helpful to do some of your own research. You may like to phone or email your treating team to find out if they are LGBTIQ+ friendly. You could ask, “Have you completed any LGBTIQ+ inclusivity training?” or “Does your service have Rainbow Tick accreditation?” or “Does your service have the Yellow Tick?”

You can ask if they have experience treating LGBTIQ+ patients and if your partner/s or chosen family will be welcome at appointments. Find out about Rainbow Tick accredited organisations and the Yellow Tick.

Visit the website of your treating team to see if they have information about being an LGBTQI+ friendly provider. This may be a statement affirming inclusion of LGBTIQ+ patients, or information about LGBTIQ+ training or accreditation. If they have an inclusion or diversity policy, you may like to see if it mentions LGBTIQ+ people.

Acknowledgements

These materials were developed from the Out with Cancer Study, conducted at Western Sydney University, and funded by the Australian Research Council. Thanks are offered to the Out with Cancer study committee members with lived experience of cancer, BCNA LGBTIQ+ consumer representatives, ACON and LGBTIQ+ Health Australia who contributed their time and expertise.

BCNA's LGBTIQ+ project was undertaken with support from Cancer Australia through the Supporting Women in Rural Areas Diagnosed with Breast Cancer program.

Resources

Cancer Council - LGBTIQ+ People and Cancer. The Cancer Council NSW has detailed  information on its website including a downloadable book that will help you understand how cancer and its treatment may affect LGBTQI+ people – lesbian, gay, bisexual, transgender, queer, and other diverse sexualities and genders, as well as people with intersex variations.

QLife is Australia’s first nationally-oriented counselling and referral service for people who are lesbian, gay, bisexual, trans, and/or intersex (LGBTI). QLife provides nation-wide, early intervention, peer-supported telephone- and web-based services to people of all ages across the full breadth of people’s bodies, genders, relationships, sexualities, and lived experiences.

TransHub - Finding a doctor. Finding a doctor who supports you, and your gender affirmation goals can be difficult. Many trans and gender diverse people report negative and in some cases harmful experiences with health professionals, this can be especially tough for people who are non-binary. TransHub provides: ACON's Gender Affirming Doctor list and information on figuring out if a doctor is trans-friendly.

DocLIST is a online list of doctors and mental health professionals recommended by the LGBTQI community as capable of providing a safe and comfortable healthcare experience.

Living Proud is a non-profit organisation which aims to promote the wellbeing of lesbian, gay, bisexual, trans, intersex, queer and other sexuality, sex and gender diverse people in Western Australia. They provide peer-support, information and resources. Please visit the website for more information.

Switchboard Victoria is a community based not for profit organisation that provides a peer driven, support service for the lesbian, gay, bisexual, transgender and gender diverse, intersex, queer, asexual (LGBTIQA+) communities and their allies, friends, support workers and families.