Talking to Your Care Team about Your Sexual Orientation and Gender Identity

While it may be an uncomfortable topic to bring up, sharing your sexual orientation and gender identity with your cancer team can help improve your overall care. As we’ve discussed many times on this program, communication is key to improving your experience and ensuring you’re receiving the best and most tailored, care for you. Chastity Burrows Walters will discuss the challenges individuals face in disclosing their sexual orientation and gender identity with their care team and will provide tips on how to have these conversations. She will discuss the importance of finding a cancer care provider who is both knowledgeable and respectful. Through establishing this relationship of trust, your care team can make better recommendations for screenings, support groups, or follow-up care. Speaker: Chasity Burrows Walters, PhD, RN Bio: Chasity Burrows Walters is the Senior Director of Patient and Community Education at Memorial Sloan Kettering Cancer Center (MSK). In that role, she is responsible for the vision, leadership, and strategic planning of educational initiatives, focusing on health equity. A longstanding advocate for LGBTQ patients, she is the founder and Leadership Sponsor of MSK’s LGBTQ Clinical Advisory Committee and a leader in MSK’s LGBTQ+ Pride, MSK’s Employee Resource Network. Dr. Walters is a member of multiple professional organizations, including the Oncology Nursing Society, the American Society of Clinical Oncology, Sigma, GLMA, and is a past Chair of the Cancer Patient Education Network. In addition to awards for her leadership during her academic career, Dr. Walters has been the recipient of the Oncology Nursing Society Excellence in Patient and Public Education Award as well as the Cancer Patient Education Network’s Distinguished Service Award. Dr. Walters has presented and published on a range of topics related to the care of LGBTQ patients and teaches LGBTQ Public Health.