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Fat trans person's surgery: Stage 4 endometriosis

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My name is Jenn, or Jae, and I am a fat trans-masc and disabled lesbian who is being refused medical treatment by the NHS. I have stage 4 / deep-infiltrating endometriosis, which means I have an advanced or “late” stage of endometriosis which has spread beyond my reproductive system and is impacting multiple organs, causing them to tether and fuse, impacting their functioning and causing life-long damage.

Addenbrookes NHS Trust has refused to give me even excision surgery, never mind a hysterectomy for the adenomyosis, on the grounds of my weight. A private endometriosis surgeon will do the surgeries, but it won't be cheap. I know everyone is struggling at the moment, and my choice to fundraise is because this is currently the only way I see getting treatment I desperately need. I have been forced to take this option after a lifetime of medical neglect, gaslighting and malpractice, and a refusal to treat me for the last 15 months. I am unable to work and I am in excruciating pain every single day because of this disease. I cannot walk, I am bed-bound the majority of days, and I am tired, depressed and increasingly scared about the scale of my disease and the worrying symptoms I have.

I have made complaints to the Trust, but at this point their continued denial to treat me leads me to believe they lack the knowledge and expertise to operate on someone my size - even if they were to change their mind on account of pressure, which they haven't so far and are unlikely to. It is no joke that fat people die during medical procedures because of medical fatphobia. The only option available to me at present is to fundraise for these surgeries, and I have had confirmation from a private specialist that my weight is not a barrier to any surgeries and treatment with them.  

Please see, for transparency, the costs of my surgery. I am currently only fundraising for the first surgery as it is the most pressing, but I may fundraise at a later date for a hysterectomy - as this will be both medically necessary and gender-affirming for me. I’m raising for slightly more than the surgery cost to cover for appointments and a scan they require, gofundme fees, and as a cushion for anything which may go wrong during the surgery as it’s high risk. 

 Addenbrookes NHS: I have been under the care of Addenbrookes since December 2021 and to date (April 2023) I have received no treatment whatsoever. Despite an MRI indicating adenomyosis and deep-infiltrating and extensive endometriosis impacting multiple organs and causing significant issues and extensive bowel endometriosis, as well as symptoms indicating bladder involvement, neurological symptoms/pain and diaphragm symptoms, my consultant and his team continue to downplay the scale of my disease to try and justify their cruelty and neglect. I would urge any person but especially any fat person to avoid Addenbrookes endometriosis clinic. Please see below the latest letter indicating their refusal to treat, with personal details, dead name and wrong pronouns redacted  

Donations 

  • Emily Maloney
    • £10
    • 2 mos
  • Anonymous
    • £100
    • 2 mos
  • Daniel Starkey
    • £10
    • 7 mos
  • Fran Meadows
    • £15
    • 1 yr
  • Freya Watkins
    • £20
    • 1 yr

Fundraising team (2)

Jenn T
Organizer
Charley Barnard
Team member

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