TRANSforming Gyne Cancer Care
This community-led three-year project aims to make gynecological cancer care more inclusive and supportive for trans and gender diverse (TGD) people in Canada. It’s focused on tackling the barriers they face by co-creating solutions that empower patients, educate healthcare providers, and influence policy change.
About the project
Gynecological cancer care can be a difficult and even hostile experience for TGD people.
Many people aren’t offered regular cancer screenings, are diagnosed later, and face worse health outcomes than the general population. Anxiety is higher, information often doesn’t reflect their realities, and many healthcare professionals don’t feel confident in providing affirming care. These issues are worsened by a lack of research highlighting the experiences of TGD individuals.
This collaboration brings together people with lived experience of cancer, Queering Cancer, the health advocacy nonprofit Praxus Health, and healthcare experts from the Sexual and Gender Diversity in Cancer Care program at Princess Margaret Cancer Centre. The work is led by TGD and queer voices, blending personal experience with professional expertise and strong community-based research.
Project goals
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1.
To listen and learn from the stories and strengths of TGD people affected by gynecological cancer.
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2.
To create useful tools and resources for patients, healthcare providers, and policy makers to support better, more inclusive care.
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3.
To build a community of practice where 2SLGBTQ+ healthcare professionals, allies, people with lived experience and researchers can share knowledge and drive lasting change.
Project progress
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Project kick off
We began by establishing our lived experience group, connecting with partners and collaborators, developing our research materials, and shaping our communications and social media strategies.
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Project identity
The project’s lived experience group members worked with non-binary illustrator, animator, designer, and filmmaker Mike Hooves to come up with the project’s impactful and engaging design.
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Ethics approval
Our research proposal, interview guide, consent forms and other documents were carefully reviewed and approved by the University Health Network’s Research Ethics Board to ensure the study is ethical and participant-focused.
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Environmental scan
We are reviewing current resources, research, and patient experiences to better understand what’s already been done.
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Community of Practice
We held the first quarterly Community of Practice meeting in October 2025 to support folks supporting 2SLGBTQI+ people affected by cancer.
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Recruitment
We have begun the process of recruiting trans and gender diverse people with lived experience of gyne cancer with the goal of talking to 20 participants.
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Interviews
Our first co-facilitated interview (with the lived experience group) was held in March 2026!
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Analysis
As we gather people’s experiences with our interviews we are concurrently co-analysing the data with members of the lived experience group.
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Codevelopment workshops
We will be facilitating a series of virtual and face to face arts-based co-development workshops in 2026/2027 to review our findings with the community.
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Resource development
Ultimately the project outputs will depend on community needs and decisions, but we anticipate that they might include arts-based patient materials, healthcare professional tools, and policy recommendations.
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Resource launch
Join us virtually or in person for something impactful, fun, and inspiring! Coming in 2027
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Knowledge sharing
Our audiences include (first and foremost) TGD people affected by gyne cancer but also cancer organisations, healthcare professionals, policy makers and funders, national professional associations and educators and researchers.
Partners
This research is funded by a Health Equity Research Grant of the Canadian Cancer Society (CCS grant HE-24). We are grateful to our project partners, collaborators, and implementers.
