The SGDc (Sexual and Gender Diversity in Cancer Care) program at Princess Margaret Cancer Centre in Toronto, Canada interviews Ross Harrison, a Princess Margaret Cancer Centre patient, about his life and his cancer care journey as a gay cis-gender man.

 

My journey through the prostate cancer was  alone. I never went, I never asked anybody to come with me. I never took notes. These are things that are mistakes. And I figured that I could do it all on my own because I’ve been  doing it all my own, my whole life. I’ll be fine.  But it’s a difficult journey.

 

Ross discusses his early life, his experience and losses with the AIDS crisis and how he experienced cancer diagnosis and treatment. He talks about ways that his experience could have been more inclusive and how care could be tailored to sexual and gender minority people.

 

There just didn’t seem to be any language ever used. Whether I was asked whether I had a partner  or not or a best friend and the majority of the group that I saw there were couples who were men and women and I didn’t see a gay couple. I can’t  be the only gay person. So I really felt alone.

 

Click here to watch Ross Harrison’s interview