Rédaction Africa Links 24 with Theresa Gaffney
Published on 2024-03-11 19:46:48
Last week, a report released by Environmental Progress, a think tank focused on energy and environmental policy, created a stir by leaking hundreds of messages from an internal chat board for an international group of transgender health professionals. The report framed these messages as revealing serious health risks associated with gender-affirming care, including cancer. However, experts in the field have pushed back against this correlation, stating that it is false and oversimplifies the complex role of hormones in the body.
The report was founded by Michael Shellenberger, a writer who has been critical of gender-affirming care and has expressed a desire to shut down the World Professional Association for Transgender Health (WPATH). The leaked messages from the WPATH system, where over 2,700 member clinicians can discuss care, were used in the report to allege a connection between hormone therapy and cancer. Two particular messages cited in the report detailed instances of patients developing benign liver tumors after hormone therapy treatment.
Experts in the field have pointed out that these individual anecdotes are being misinterpreted. The benign liver tumors mentioned in the messages are a rare side effect linked to birth control use, not necessarily hormone therapy. Dr. Carl Streed, a physician and president of the United States Professional Association for Transgender Health, emphasized the importance of balancing isolated cases against the many individuals who have successfully undergone hormone therapy with no adverse effects.
WPATH president, Marci Bowers, confirmed that the leaked messages were indeed from the organization’s internal message board. She stressed the expertise of these professionals in understanding the medical needs of transgender and gender diverse individuals and condemned any efforts to misrepresent or delegitimize the identities and needs of this population.
While hormones in general can contribute to the risk of cancer, adjusting the hormone levels to undergo gender-affirming treatment typically does not pose a significant risk. Experts have highlighted the need for more research specifically focused on transgender individuals who develop cancer to better understand any potential associations with hormone therapy.
Despite the controversy stirred by the leaked messages, major medical associations continue to support gender-affirming care. Attacks and threats on providers offering such care may hinder research efforts and limit access to accurate information for individuals seeking to learn more about these services.
In conclusion, the report on the leaked messages may have raised concerns about the safety of gender-affirming care, but experts in the field have refuted these claims, emphasizing the importance of evidence-based practices and comprehensive research in understanding the complex interplay between hormones and cancer risk in transgender individuals.
