Cancer, Human Rights and Community: How Things Go Right.

I recently wrote about my experience of visiting the BC Cancer Centres website and finding my cancer listed under the category “Women’s Cancer.” I attended an online meeting with Trans Care BC and the B.C. Cancer Centre where we explored finding non-gendered terms for the cancers that were listed under “Men’s” and “Women’s Cancers.”

During the meeting it became clear to me that there are many people within the Cancer Centre who are working to change the out-dated systems that are being used. Often their are hidden groups of people in systems that push for years for change. At the end of the meeting we all agreed that the cancers should be listed under body parts. If you visit there now, you will find cervical cancer in the pelvic cancers section. The literature and pamphlets remain to be changed. My hope is that more trans, Two-Spirit and/or non-binary people get treatment when they’re diagnosed with cancer. The website is the first piece in not turning people away before they come into the centre. There’s still so much that needs to be changed internally to improve the gender variant patients’ experience.

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My general experience of being a non-binary person with cervical cancer in B.C. right now is a complete lack of training within the B.C. cancer centre to accommodate gender variant patients. I’ve had my pronouns made fun of within earshot while I was waiting for a PET scan, my non-binary partner and I were welcomed with a “Hello girls!” as we crossed the threshold into the centre, my specialists have no knowledge of how certain hormones interact with cancer and none of the supports or literature include non-binary people and/or sex that isn’t from a heteronormative perspective.

Governments pass human rights bills without the infrastructure to enforce them. The onus to change systemic human rights problems is on the individuals that experience the violations. A person has to be harmed, gather evidence and take the harming party to a human rights tribunal. That amount of self-advocacy is both glacial and Olympic. It’s inaccessible to people who are facing several different fronts of identity violations. It’s impossible for people who may only have a year or two left to live.

Self-advocacy during a personal health-crisis is nearly impossible. Self-advocacy for…