Today, we are celebrating Pride Parade in NYC and we at Savor Health are proud of our diverse community.
Research has shown that the Lesbian, Gay, Bisexual and Transgender (LGBT) patients and their loved ones usually report a lower satisfaction with their care and experience several difficulties after diagnosis and post treatment care as well as an increased cancer risk [i]. In fact, today, gay and bisexual men have a 44 percent higher anal cancer risk as compared to the national average due to the exceptionally high rates of infection with human papillomavirus (HPV).
One of the biggest challenges faced by the LGBT community is the lack of culturally competent oncology providers across disciplines and a recent position paper from the American Society of Clinical Oncology (ASCO) also found that most hospitals do not have set guidelines preventing from further discrimination of the LGBT population [i]. The ASCO acknowledges that these LGBT health disparities are not only the result of individual actions and there is a need for actions from different stakeholders if we want change to happen [i]. During these past years, actions have been taken by the LGBT Healthlink and the National Cancer LGBT Network to identify the best practices of cancer care in the LGBT population. For more information, visit the National LGBT Cancer Network.
We, at Savor Health support these programs and we want to make a difference in the LGBT community. For scheduling an appointment with an oncology dietitian at Savor Health, please visit our website.
References
[i] Margolies, Liz. “Clinical Oncologists Lead the Movement to Improve Cancer Care for LGBT People.” National LGBT Cancer Network, 2018 National Cancer LGBT Network, 12 Apr. 2017, cancer-network.org/clinical-oncologists-lead-the-movement-to-improve-cancer-care-for-lgbt-people/.
