Queer Bits: Why Inclusive Cancer Screening Matters
As an out and proud lesbian and breast cancer survivor, Queer Bits (www.thebrunswickcentre.org.uk/queer-bits) is a campaign that feels very close to home for me.
Queer Bits has a clear aim: to encourage LGBTQ+ people to self-check and attend cancer screening appointments. It is part of Brunswick’s Well Proud (www.thebrunswickcentre.org.uk/wellproud) initiatives, a wider programme of LGBTQ+ wellbeing projects across Calderdale and Kirklees.
The campaign was recently recognised with the Pride in Diversity Inclusive Healthcare Initiative Award and was created to tackle the barriers that too often prevent queer people from accessing healthcare. These barriers can lead to delayed diagnoses, reducing the chances of successful treatment.
Discrimination, stigma, gender dysphoria, myths, misconceptions, and the need to repeatedly come out during appointments are just some of the challenges LGBTQ+ people continue to face.
I know these barriers from personal experience. Routine healthcare appointments often involve explaining why I’m not taking contraception, how I know I’m not pregnant, or why I need a smaller speculum.
When I registered with my GP surgery, I was called back to reception and told I had “ticked the wrong box” on my equality form because I had selected “Lesbian.” I had to explain that I had, in fact, completed it correctly.
Then there was the GP who was concerned that I was a female of a certain age who had not had any children and asked, “Is your husband okay with that?” while treating me for a knee injury.
As a confident adult who is secure in my identity, I can usually laugh these experiences off. They have certainly provided plenty of stories for my work. But not everyone has that privilege.
For many LGBTQ+ people, these interactions are upsetting, exhausting, or even traumatic. A single negative experience can be enough to stop someone from returning for future appointments, potentially putting their health at risk.
For transgender and non-binary people, healthcare can present additional challenges. The fear of being misgendered or having a deadname called out in a waiting room can discourage people from seeking medical care altogether. Gender dysphoria may also make self-checking or attending screening appointments incredibly difficult, increasing the likelihood that symptoms go unnoticed.
There are practical barriers too. When a person’s gender marker changes on NHS records, they may no longer automatically receive invitations for screenings such as cervical screening, mammograms, or prostate checks. It is important that trans and non-binary people know they can request invitations for the screenings that are appropriate for their bodies.
Misinformation is another challenge. Anyone with breast tissue can develop breast cancer, and anyone with a cervix can develop cervical cancer, regardless of gender identity or sexual orientation. Understanding your own body and attending regular screening appointments can make a life-saving difference.
LGBTQ+ people deserve healthcare that is inclusive, respectful, and free from fear. Early detection saves lives, and everyone deserves the right to seek help without worrying about judgement or discrimination.
Queer Bits has been created by the community, for the community, with the aim of starting conversations, challenging misconceptions, and empowering people to take charge of their health. On our website, you can find information on breast and cervical screening, as well as awareness of testicular, prostate and anal cancers. There are also links to lots of useful resources.
Take a look, because your Queer Bits deserve it.
Brunswick and Happy Valley Pride have worked in partnership many times, and it is great that this year we can showcase Queer Bits. So, if you spot me or one of the Brunswick team at our stall at the Big Day Out with our silicone boobs and testicles, or showing off our melons at one of the other events, please come and say hello!
Caz Morreale – Brunswick