B. Dana Kivel has a plea to the ovarian cancer community, to medical professionals, to the world: “See me. Listen to me. I’m one of the people, the tens of thousands of people who have metastatic ovarian cancer.” But while Dana has a gendered gynecologic cancer, their gender identity does not align with what one would expect of someone who has ovarian cancer.

“You have cancer, and that’s challenging enough,” they said. “But then you have a gendered cancer, and it’s aligned with the gender identity with which you do not identify. So there’s a disconnect.”

Dana’s narrative about their diagnosis, treatment and how metastatic ovarian cancer has impacted their ability to medically transition is available on the Ovarian Cancer Research Alliance website

Read Dana’s story here.