Intro to colon cancer

Trans* women, Two Spirit, genderqueer and other gender non-conforming people along the MtF spectrum: If you’re 50 years old or older then you need to think about the health of your colon! And if you’re at higher risk because of your family or medical history, then you may need to think about the health of your colon before the age of 50. When it comes to our health we often hear about preventing sexually transmitted infections or about gender affirming hormone therapy. These may be important parts of taking care of ourselves, and it’s also a good idea to get screened for colon cancer. Colon cancer is the number two cancer killer in Ontario, but when caught early it’s 90% curable!

We know that thinking about colon cancer screening is most likely not at the top of your list of favourite things to do. Health care that meets our needs as trans people can be difficult to find, and sometimes it feels easier to ignore or put off, especially when you’re feeling fine. The thing is, the best time to screen for colon cancer IS when you’re feeling great! That’s what prevention and early detection of cancer is all about. The great news is that for those who are average risk, colon cancer screening can be done at home with a simple stool test. So while thinking about cancer isn’t always at the top of our health care list, we can make our bottom a top priority!

*We recognize that the term “Trans women and people on the spectrum” does not cover the full range of transfeminine (i.e.: MtF spectrum) and gender non-conforming experiences and identities, and as such could exclude many people. We struggled with how to use language that would be inclusive but also easy to understand for most people. For this portion of the website, we will refer to people on the transfeminine spectrum as trans, recognizing its limitations but acknowledging the need for simplicity. Please feel free to contact us if you have suggestions or comments on this website, including input on how to be more inclusive.