Of What Am I Afraid?
- Anne Dohrenwend, PhD, ABPP
- Author Affiliation: Department of Internal Medicine Residency Program, McLaren Regional Medical Center, Flint, Michigan (anned@mclaren.org).
Since this article does not have an abstract, we have provided the first 150 words of the full text.
- KEYWORDS:
- BRCA1 GENES
- BRCA2 GENES
- BREAST NEOPLASMS
- CHEMOTHERAPY, ADJUVANT
- DISEASE PROGRESSION
- DRUG THERAPY
- GENETIC PREDISPOSITION TO DISEASE
- METHYLATION, DNA
- MUTATION
- OUTCOME ASSESSMENT (HEALTH CARE)
- OVARIAN NEOPLASMS
- PHENOTYPE
- SURVIVAL
- WOMEN'S HEALTH
When a physician has a question about a transgender patient, he or she often looks to me. They seek me out, not only because I teach behavioral medicine, but because I belong to the clan, GLBT.1 They expect me, as part of that family, to understand the transgender experience. Certainly, gay, lesbian, bisexual, and transgender individuals are united, in many ways, by the bond of shared oppression. As a bisexual woman married to a woman, I know what it's like to be different, to be misunderstood, to shoulder the burden of legal inequities, but there is much about the transgender life that I don't understand.
Transgender individuals experience an enduring conflict between internalized gender and biological sex. Cross-dressing can serve as both a statement of gender identity and an attempt to correct for this biological error. Sometimes, medical and surgical interventions are pursued—hormone treatment and gender reassignment. Health risks …
