What Are The Symptoms Of Prostate Problems In Trans Women
Most early prostate cancer doesnt usually have any symptoms, but some people might have urinary problems. These can also be a sign of a benign prostate problem, such as an enlarged prostate or prostatitis.
Trans women who have had feminising hormones and therefore have a smaller prostate might be less likely to have symptoms but if they do have symptoms they might be similar to those of cis men. Read about the possible symptoms of prostate problems in cis men.
Genital reconstructive surgery can cause urinary symptoms and pain so this could be confused with symptoms of prostate problems.
If you have any urinary symptoms as a trans woman or non-binary person assigned male at birth you should speak to your doctor so that they can find out whats causing them.
How Many Transgender People Legally Transition
The number of Gender Recognition Certificates that have been granted since 2004 is 4,910 . Three quarters are owned by male-born transgender people and mostly aged 50+. Based on prevalence estimate of 200,000-500,000 trans in UK this means only 1-3% of trans people have changed the sex on their birth certificate. The overwhelming majority of trans people remain legally the sex their were born.
I Am A Transgender Woman With Prostate Cancer
Although prostate cancer is often described as a male cancer , the reality is that anyone who was born with a prostate can develop prostate cancer. Were still learning about the impact that transitional hormones and gender-confirming surgery can have on the risk of prostate cancer. If you have a doctor you trust, that is the best person to talk to about your specific risk. Prostate Cancer Canada also has a very detailed and well-cited page about the effects of gender-confirming surgery and transitional hormones on prostate cancer risk, screening, and diagnosis for trans women.
It can be emotionally difficult to have a male-associated cancer as someone who does not identify as male, especially since most prostate cancer support groups and resources are targeted at men. Consider building a support network of friends, family, or counselors with whom you feel comfortable discussing your prostate cancer diagnosis. Malecare can also connect you with social workers who can help you. Additionally, Prostate Cancer UK is trialing an online support group for trans women, and you can find more information here.
Although the ZERO website uses male terms and pronouns, they are not meant to exclude transgender women or gender-nonconforming individuals. If you have been diagnosed with prostate cancer, take a look at the rest of our Learn section to gather more information about the disease.
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Trans Men And Transmasculine People On Testosterone Can Grow Prostate Tissue
The general publics knowledge of the nature of the physical changes induced by medical transition can be surprisingly spotty: trans womens breasts are often wrongly assumed to be implants our long-healed neovaginas are cruelly mischaracterized as open wounds HRT is thought to be something we take merely for the sake of it rather than serving a functional purpose. In reality, cross-sex hormone therapy activates the expression of certain genes possessed by everyone whether assigned male or assigned female, and causes development of the associated secondary sex characteristics. Trans women taking estrogen will grow breast tissue with the same anatomy as that of cis women. The neovagina can differentiate into layers of cells highly similar to normal vaginal tissue . And a recent study has reported on a novel and previously unrecognized finding: the growth of prostate tissue within the vaginal tract of trans men and transmasculine people taking testosterone.
Anderson et al. examined tissue samples taken from eight trans men on testosterone who underwent vaginectomy as part of gender-affirming surgery, along with four intersex people with vaginas who had an excess of endogenously-produced androgens. In seven of the eight trans men, who had been receiving testosterone for an average of 43 months, very small prostatic glands were found distributed throughout the surface of the vaginal tissue, and some were characterized as well-developed:
Myths About Transgender Men’s Genital Reconstructions
Recently, writer Brynn Tannehill produced a list of misconceptions that plague people’s understanding of gender-confirmation surgeries . Perusing her inventory, I nodded in recognition at every barb like her, I’ve heard all these and more hurled at me, my loved ones, or my comrades online. “It’s not life-or-death,” “It’s cosmetic,” “You need therapy, not surgery,” and “It will burden taxpayers” are among the many toxic myths in need of exploding.
Inspired, I decided to build on this conversation by considering the specific fictions concerning trans-male procedures and embodiments — and I hope to read a list generated about women’s gender-specific experiences as well.
So — with the caveats that this list is not exhaustive and I am no medical expert — it’s time to bust some myths!
1. Without genital reconstruction, trans men aren’t “real” men.
I look forward to a day where this goes without saying: Being a man is so much more before and beyond what’s in one’s pants.
Rather, being a man is first and foremost about knowing oneself as a man, working toward being the kind of man one wants to be, and being acknowledged publicly and intimately as a man if that’s necessary to one’s self-actualization. The individual — not the system — knows best.
2. There’s only one kind of genital reconstruction.
Media portrays transgender people as seeking the surgery — you know, that one, single “sex-change” operation?
3. All trans men want genital reconstruction.
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Symptoms Of Female Prostate Cancer
Aside from a spike in PSA levels, there are other symptoms of prostate cancer in women to look out for. As expected, they mimic the signs of male prostate cancer, such as pressure on the bladder, a frequent need to urinate, and painful urination. Soreness in the lower pelvis, itching around the vaginal opening and urethra, painful sex, and disrupted menstrual cycles are all indicators of prostate cancer in women. Because of how rarely it occurs, patients who develop cancer in the female prostate gland are often misdiagnosed.
Technically, you cannot develop prostate cancer without an actual prostate. However, the Skene glands have been known to foster cancerous growths, adversely affecting your reproductive system, urethra, and bladder.
Problems with the Skene glands also go undetected when the symptoms of female prostate cancer fall in line with other reproductive diseases. This includes uterine or ovarian cancer and polycystic ovarian syndrome , which are far more common. They all cause irregular periods, abdominal aches, sluggish metabolism along with weight gain, pressure behind the pubic bone, and painful sex.
Furthermore, the Skene glands have a tendency to grow cysts, which may be benign or cancerous. Theyre manually detectable with your fingers and will probably feel like lumps around your vagina or urethra.
Urologic Concerns Of Transgender Women
Transgender women on feminizing hormones will experience body fat redistribution, decreased muscle mass, decreased libido and spontaneous erections, male sexual dysfunction, breast growth, decreased testicular volume and sperm production, and thinning of body and facial hair.
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In addition to orchiectomy, genital surgery relevant to urologists includes penectomy, vaginoplasty , clitoroplasty, and labiaplasty for MtF patients. The two most common approaches to vaginoplasty include penile inversion vaginoplasty, with a graft of scrotal skin, or enterovaginoplasty with pedicled flap from ileum, sigmoid, or right colon. Clitoroplasty utilizes the glans penis and involves preservation of the neurovascular bundle between Bucks fascia and the corpora cavernosa for preserved genital sensation.
Approximately one-quarter of patients undergoing vaginoplasty experience complications , including venous thromboembolism, bleeding/hematoma formation, infection, acute urinary retention, wound breakdown or necrosis, granulation tissue, neuropathic pain, and in rare cases, recto-neovaginal fistulae or vesico-neovaginal fistulae. Longer-term risks include meatal stenosis with urinary retention, loss of vaginal depth and width, and vaginal hair growth. Patients undergoing penile inversion vaginoplasty must preserve vaginal depth and width with regular dilation.
Read – Prostate Ca: Novel model predicts true cancer state
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Transgender Men And Urinary Health
Transgender men, or individuals who were assigned female at birth, often begin the transition process by taking high levels of testosterone. Testosterone medications act to block ovarian function, which in turn decreases estrogen levels. While this is an effective method to change outward appearance, there are side effects that individuals should be aware of before they begin to take hormone supplements. Side effects of testosterone therapies include vaginal dryness, urinary urgency, pelvic pain, and urinary tract infections . While these side effects may not be eliminated completely, there are ways to help minimize them and make the individual more comfortable.
Practical Guidelines For Transgender Hormone Treatment
Adapted from: Gardner, Ivy and Safer, Joshua D. 2013 Progress on the road to better medical care for transgender patients. Current Opinion in Endocrinology, Diabetes and Obesity 20: 553-558.
KEY POINTS
- In order to improve transgender individuals access to health care, the approach to transgender medicine needs to be generalized and accessible to physicians in multiple specialties.
- A practical target for hormone therapy for transgender men is to increase testosterone levels to the normal male physiological range by administering testosterone.
- A practical target for hormone therapy for transgender women is to decrease testosterone levels to the normal female range without supra- physiological levels of estradiol by administering an antiandrogen and estrogen.
- Transgender adolescents usually have stable gender identities and can be given GnRH analogs to suppress puberty until they can proceed with hormone therapy as early as age 16.
Hormone regimes for transgender men
1. Oral
2. Parenterally
- Testosterone enanthate or cypionate 50200mg/week or 100200mg/2 weeks
- Testosterone undecanoate 1000 mg/12 weeks
3. Transdermal
- Testosterone 1% gel 2.5 10 g/day
- Testosterone patch 2.5 7.5 mg/day
i.m., intramuscular.*Not available in the USA.
Monitoring for transgender men on hormone therapy:
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Management Of The Patient Requesting Transgender Surgery
In this article, we will provide an overview of the urologists role in caring for patients undergoing gender transition as well as urologic concerns of transgender men and women.
Transgender individuals make up an estimated 0.6% of the U.S. population and have been the subject of increasing mainstream media attention in recent years. A growing number of insurance providers and health care systems, including Medicare and the Veterans Health Administration, now offer coverage for certain aspects of medical and surgical gender transition.
Read – The transgender community: Urology has a role and responsibility
As surgeons of the genitourinary tract, urologists are likely to see increased demand from transgender patients both for general urologic care and for needs specific to surgical transition.
Gender-confirming surgery, previously described as sex reassignment surgery, includes procedures that alter an individuals body to resemble that of their identified gender. Urologists may be involved in providing surgical castration, genital reconstruction, or in managing complications of genital reconstruction. Beyond gender-confirming surgeries, transgender patients may have unique urologic needs as a result of hormonal therapy or prior reconstruction.
In this article, we will provide an overview of the urologists role in caring for patients undergoing gender transition as well as urologic concerns of transgender men and women.
Journal Articles For Further Reading
Long-term survival of inflatable penile prostheses: single surgical group experience with 2,384 first-time implants spanning two decades.Wilson SK, Delk JR, Salem EA, Cleves MA. J Sex Med. 2007 Jul 4:1074-9.Long-term revision-free survival, greater than 10 years has never been reported for inflatable penile prostheses. This is the first report on long-term reliability of inflatable penile prostheses. Fourteen different inflatables were examined including Mentor Alpha 1, Mentor Alpha NB, AMS 700 CX, and AMS 700 Ultrex. Researchers estimated that 60% of these virgin implants would survive 15 or more years without revision or extraction. Newer enhanced models are currently available, and even better long-term survival for these devices is predicted.
Obtaining rigidity in total phalloplasty: experience with 35 patients.Hoebeke P, de Cuypere G, Ceulemans P, Monstrey S. J Urol. 2003 Jan 169:221-3.The combination of a neourethra and erection prosthesis in a single neophallus in the female-to-male transsexual remains a challenge. In this report, experience with 35 patients is described, and 1- and 3-piece hydraulic models are compared.
Penile prosthesis implantation in a transsexual neophallus.Tan HM. Asian J Androl. 2000 Dec 2:304-6.Successful insertion of an inflatable prosthesis is described. The AMS CX prosthesis is used in a 45 year old transsexual, who had a large bulky neophallus constructed from the anterior abdominal subcutaneous fat 9 years previous.
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Does Female Prostate Cancer Really Exist
Yes and no. Technically, you cannot develop prostate cancer without an actual prostate. However, the Skene glands have been known to foster cancerous growths, adversely affecting your reproductive system, urethra, and bladder.
Skene glands produce an ejaculate protein called prostate-specific antigen , which, when found at elevated levels in men, could point to the presence of cancerous cells. This explains why the PSA hormone also shows up in women diagnosed with breast cancer. Once they receive radiation therapy, their PSA levels drop. As a result, many doctors closely monitor PSA levels during cancer treatment.
Thats why the answer to Can women get prostate cancer? is somewhat contradictory. Cancer in the Skene glands can mimic prostate cancer in men. Fortunately, this disease is extremely rare and comprises only 0.003% of female genital cancers. It typically affects older, post-menopausal women and produces very small tumors. Treatment might include radiation therapy and removal of the glands.
Testosterone Therapy For Transgender Men
- Date:
- George Washington University
- Summary:
- Testosterone therapy for transgender men is the focus of a recent article, which calls for more research. Testosterone therapy is prescribed for transgender men in order to obtain male secondary sexual characteristics, to improve well-being, and to decrease gender dysphoria. The review found that a benefit of testosterone therapy is a reduction in the risk of breast cancer.
A review article published in The Lancet Diabetes & Endocrinology journal discusses testosterone therapy for transgender men , outlining desired and undesired effects, potential risks, and additional benefits. The review also revealed a lack of research in this field, calling for more data.
“My review looks at published literature on testosterone therapy in transgender men — principally from the last 15 years,” said Michael S. Irwig, M.D., associate professor of medicine at the George Washington University School of Medicine and Health Sciences and director of the Andrology Center at the GW Medical Faculty Associates, who authored the article. “Overall, testosterone therapy appears to be quite safe in the short term.”
However, potential undesired effects and risks were found to include acne, alopecia, lower HDL cholesterol, higher triglycerides, and a possible increase in systolic blood pressure.
Story Source:
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Transgender Surgery: Everything You Need To Know According To Doctors
Here’s what it’s like to undergo male-to-female or female-to-male surgery.
Transgender surgery goes by a constellation of names. People call it gender reassignment, realignment, or confirmation surgery masculinization or feminization surgery male-to-female or female-to-male surgery or even sex reassignment surgery. Increasingly, as medicine breaks out of a gender-binary box, more inclusive and culturally appropriate descriptors, such as gender-affirmation surgery and gender-affirming care, are catching on.
Having surgery to change one or more sex characteristicsbreasts/chest, genitalia, or facial features, for exampleis a highly personal decision. But to say its a choice misses the mark, explains Steph DeNormand , Trans Health Program Manager at Fenway Health in Boston. Its a matter of survival its can I be the person that I know I am? they tell Health.
Whether you are supporting someone whos transitioning, or you’re on your own journey to align your body with your sense of self, its important to know what masculinizing, feminizing, and gender-nullification surgeries may involve, including potential risks and complications. We spoke with surgeons and trans health professionals from to find out more about this expanding category of care.
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The Gender Youre Registered As Also Dictates Which Screening Tests You Are Invited To
It was really cute and awesome that I was treated as male, but in being this way, they didnt necessarily take into account the body, says Whitley, who points out that, though he has been taking testosterone for around 15 years, its a relatively small dose. I was born female and I identify as male they should have probably have set my limit as somewhere in the middle.
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Even Whitleys dialysis was complicated by the current lack of knowledge about transgender medicine the calculation thats used to work out how regularly it needs to be done is based on another sex-specific assumption.
Whitleys experiences are just the tip of the iceberg.
When you factor in the large data gaps in everything from the average life expectancy of transgender people to the right dosages of medications for their bodies, along with the widespread lack of knowledge among doctors about how to address them let alone treat them and the high chance of them being refused treatment outright, it soon becomes clear that transgender medicine is in crisis. Few groups experience such significant barriers to healthcare, and yet their struggles are going largely unnoticed.
Transgender and non-binary people can find themselves being called for scans and screening they do not need while missing out on others
In some cases, the issues are baked right into the heart of our medical systems.
Instead doctors must rely on their patient to tell them.
Ancient roots
Ignorance
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