Information for people who are transgender (trans) or non-binary
This information is for you if you are trans or non-binary.
If you are a friend, family member or health professional, you may also find this information helpful.
Information in this section will help you understand which screening tests you can have and when. It will also help you decide whether to take part or not.
How will I be invited for screening?
If you live in Wales, screening programmes will invite you based on your:
- age; and
- gender.
People are invited depending on their gender marker. A gender marker refers to how you are registered with your doctor, for example you may be registered as male or female, or non-specified.
Your risk of certain conditions can depend on the sex you were assigned at birth. For example, if you were assigned male at birth, you are six times more likely to have an Abdominal Aortic Aneurysm than someone who was assigned female at birth.
Some people may be automatically invited for screening that they do not need. For example, if you are registered with your doctor as female, you will be invited to make an appointment for cervical screening. If you do not have a cervix, you do not need to attend.
Some people may not be automatically invited but are recommended to consider attending. For example, if you are not registered with your doctor as female, you will not be invited for breast screening even though you might have breasts.
If you think you should have been invited for a screening test, contact your doctor or the screening programme. They will be able to tell you how to get the tests you need. Visit the contact us pages on the programme website to get in touch.
Taking part in screening
To make a decision about taking part in screening, a person must have:
- access to clear and accurate information, in a format that suits their needs
- support (if they need it) to understand the information
- time to consider the information, and
- further support (if they need it) to help them make a decision.
We understand that you might be worried about taking part in screening. You may want to talk to somebody you trust, for example friends, family or a health professional.
For more information about screening in Wales, visit Public Health Wales Screening.
Transcript
If you’re trans and non-binary, it can be difficult to know which screening tests you should have, when you should have them, and what you need to do.
However, it’s important that you know what screening tests are available for you and how you can take part. Screening looks for early signs of certain conditions when they may be too small for you to see or feel, or you might not even know that there’s anything different.
Finding these conditions gives you the best chance of successful treatment.
People are invited for screening depending on their gender marker.
A gender marker is how you’re registered with your doctor—for example, as male, female, or non-specified.
It’s important to know what screening tests are available.
Your risk of certain conditions can depend on the sex you were assigned at birth. For example, if you were assigned male at birth, you are six times more likely to have an abdominal aortic aneurysm than someone assigned female at birth.
Depending on how you are registered with your doctor, you may be invited to take part in screening that you don’t need.
For example, if you’re registered with your doctor as female, you’ll be invited to make an appointment for cervical screening. If you don’t have a cervix, you don’t need to attend.
You may not be automatically invited for screening that is recommended for you. For example, if you’re not registered with your doctor as female, you won’t be invited for breast screening—even if you have breasts.
We understand that you might be worried about taking part in screening, as there may be physical changes to your body that you struggle with.
We will treat you with dignity and respect, and everything that you say to us will be treated in the strictest confidence. We want everyone to have a positive experience of screening.
If you’re worried about taking part or think you’d like some more support from us, please reach out.
There’s more information available on our website.