Hey Everyone!

My name is Zac and I’m a 25 year old transgender man. I’ve been physically transitioning for the last 18 months and it has been the best but most challenging 18 months of my life.

Taking hormone replacements has allowed my body’s secondary sex characteristics (body and facial hair, adams apple, muscle mass, etc.) to change and more closely resemble features of a cisgender male, but unfortunately it wont change or take away what is already there. 

Top-surgery or chest reconstruction surgery involves the removal of breast tissue and contouring the excess skin into a more “masculine” shape and in some cases altering and reshaping the nipple to be grafted back on. 

Not all trans people undergo top surgery, for me though, it’s an essential part of alleviating dysphoria. Gender dysphoria refers to the distress and discomfort a person feels when their gender doesn’t match their biology. Having “female breasts” is a constant and terrible reminder that I’m not a cisgender male and is the source of a lot of pain and anxiety for me.  Since starting my transition I’ve attempted to alleviate this feeling by binding and taping my chest flat, both of which cause me a lot of pain and trouble breathing. 

For as long as I can remember, all I’ve wanted is to be able to put a shirt on and have nothing between it and my skin or to be able to go to the beach with my friends, take my shirt off and jump in the surf like my other friends can. This is achievable with top surgery but its also very expensive and I need your help! 

My surgery will be with Dr Andrew Ives in Melbourne, as it stands his fee is $6300 with the first consult included, $2100 for the anaesthetist and $4800 for the 1 night hospital stay, in total a cost of $13,200. There is no option to do this through the public health care system but with Medicare, I’ll get around $3000 back in rebates. Unfortunately I’m just not in a position to be able to fund this myself and I’m hoping with a little help, this longtime dream of mine will become a reality. 

Legal and medical transition is expensive, time-consuming, tiring and disheartening and I would love your support. It is a terrifying thing to ask for help and I wouldn’t be if I didn’t need this so badly. So please consider donating to this fundraiser if you are able to (and only if you’re able to). If you’re not in a position to donate, please help me by sharing this and getting the word out to as many people as possible. 

Thank you for taking the time to read this and for your continual love and support! 

Zac