Many people in our communities face lasting impacts from their treatment.

Through talking to LGBTQ+ people with cancer and looking at other resources we noticed a lack of emphasis on the aftereffects of hospital treatment.

• Many people are left dealing with life-changing impacts.
• Some people find themselves surviving, but not thriving or feeling vitality.
• Some people find it difficult to find support for the ongoing impacts they are experiencing (see: community support).
• Some people might feel ungrateful for struggling with the impacts of their hospital treatment and new problems created by cancer treatment.
• Some people might not seek medical care for these impacts due to medical fatigue.

Regardless of how medical systems may define your status you might find it helpful to refer to yourself as still being in treatment. You might view the ongoing impacts from your treatment as chronic illness or injury.

While everyone is impacted differently, there are some shared experiences and strains. Sometimes good things come out of cancer. Your priorities may change.

In our communities, we manage and navigate relationships, intimacy and sex in many ways. Cancer can affect how we express ourselves in sexual and intimate ways, which can come with isolation, vulnerability, grief, fear of rejection and anger.

During and after cancer it’s possible to find ways to have intimacy (sexual and non-sexual) again and anew.

In this section, we link to treatment impacts and some tips that could help.

Cancer treatment can change:

• the way you look and feel about yourself
• how others see you and your gender expression.

Some aspects of cancer treatment might be gender/identity affirming, others won’t be. We know everyone’s experience is different.

In this section, we share treatment impacts, information for trans and gender-diverse people and some tips that could help.

Some people will choose to tell just a few people they have cancer while others might tell many people. Some people might not have a choice or not have anyone to tell. There is no right way.

In this section we share considerations, ways to tell people you have cancer and resources to help.

While some health providers might not be ready or confident to support queer bodies and identities, you have the right to access non-discriminatory care and to feel acknowledged and validated.

Discrimination happens to our communities. You might experience assumptions about your sexuality and/or gender, body shaming, weight shaming, misgendering, inappropriate pregnancy questions and other harmful questions.

In this section, we share information about your rights and what to do if your rights are not upheld by health providers.

Coming out isn’t safe for everyone.

Not everyone can choose when they come out to health providers.

In this section we share reasons you might come out to health providers, some considerations about coming out, and your rights as an LGBTQ+ person.