CANCER TEST ROW Men who identify as women are being invited for cervical smear tests even though they don’t have a cervix

June 26, 2019 in News by RBN

WOMEN who identify as male are not being offered vital routine breast screenings and cervical cancer checks in case it offends them.

But men identifying as women will be invited for cervical smear tests – even though they don’t have a cervix.

 

The advice comes from a 24-page booklet published by Public Health England called “Information for trans people”.

The PHE booklet explains “who we invite for screening”.

Transpeople who register with their GP as their birth sex will be invited to screenings appropriate to that, but if they register as they gender they identify as they will not be.

If a transman, born female, registers as male he won’t be invited for routine breast screenings at 50, or cervical screening. However, if a transwoman registers as female they will be routinely invited for cervical screening.

 Men who identify as female are being offered cervical screening tests even though they don't have a cervix

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Men who identify as female are being offered cervical screening tests even though they don’t have a cervixCredit: Universal Images Group – Getty

Cervical cancer claims the lives of 900 women each year in Britain, and it is believed the number would be four times higher without screening.

Screening saves lives by spotting cancer early so treatment can begin sooner. Those who are not screened are more likely to develop a more advanced cancer which can be fatal.

Men identifying as women will also miss out on getting tested for a blood vessel defect called an abdominal aortic aneurysm (AAA), from the age of 65 men are invited to attend an ultrasound scan.

AAAs are six times more comment in older men than women, and if left untreated can result in a fatal artery rupture.

 Those who are not screened are more likely to develop a more advanced cancer which can be fatal

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Those who are not screened are more likely to develop a more advanced cancer which can be fatalCredit: Getty – Contributor

The booklet warns: “Any trans woman [born male] will have the same risk as a man and should consider accessing screening.”

But it adds: ‘If you are a trans woman aged 65 who is registered with a GP as female, you won’t be invited for screening.”

Public Health England have said that screening invitations were automatically sent by computer and were based based on the patients’ registered age and sex.