LGBTQIA+ rangatahi impacted by cancer

If you’re facing cancer, being LGBTQIA+ may bring extra questions, but you don’t have to face them alone.

At Canteen Aotearoa, we’re committed to making sure every rangatahi feels safe, seen, and supported. Our community proudly welcomes and celebrates people of all cultures, identities, backgrounds, and abilities, including our LGBTQIA+ whānau.

We know that cancer can bring unique challenges for LGBTQIA+ rangatahi, and it’s important to have spaces where you don’t have to explain or hide who you are.

Canteen is here to provide resources, and a community where you can connect, be yourself, and get the support you need from people who understand.

Take your time to read through the following resources:

• LGBTQIA+ and cancer: common questions
• Coping with cancer as trans or gender-diverse
• Navigating cancer as someone born intersex
• Your rights in healthcare as LGBTQIA+

Things you might be thinking about:

• Health professionals making assumptions about your sexual orientation, gender and sex characteristics, or using incorrect pronouns,
• Anxiety about coming out as LGBTQIA+ and fear of negative reactions from health professionals,
• How changes to your body might affect how you feel about yourself and your identity,
• How do you talk with whānau, friends, or partner/s about what’s going on,
• Difficulty having your partner/s or other significant others recognised as your chosen family,
• Lack of knowledge among health professionals about issues specific to LGBTQIA+ people.

What we get, and what we want you to know:

• Your identity matters. Whether you’re exploring, questioning or totally sure about your gender or sexuality, it’s valid. Cancer and its treatment can change how you see or feel about your body, it can make things harder - and that’s okay for these feelings to come up,
• You deserve respect. In healthcare, in your community, and especially from the people supporting you, you deserve to be respected for who you are. That includes your name, your pronouns, and your background,
• Connection helps. It can feel isolating when others don’t understand, or you don’t feel safe sharing. Peers, trusted health professionals, and communities who get it can make a difference. Find out more about therapeutic programmes and peer-support events at Canteen.

Here are some other organisations that provide support, information, and community for rangatahi who identify as gay, lesbian, bisexual, trans, queer, or intersex:

• Rainbow Youth: Supports queer and gender-diverse rangatahi aged 13–27, including an Asian peer support group.
• Gender Minorities Aotearoa: Resources and connections for the trans community across Aotearoa.
• Intersex Trust Aotearoa: A registered charitable trust providing information, education, and training for services supporting intersex people and their whānau.
• Adhikaar Aotearoa: A charity offering education, support, and advocacy for queer and trans people of colour, with a focus on South Asian communities.
• InsideOUT: Works with rangatahi, whānau, schools, and communities to create safer spaces for young people of minority sexualities, sexes, and genders.