The College Perspective by Lindsey

A transgender man has recently spoken out about his breast cancer experience almost eight years ago after already taking hormone treatments since age 19 to transition from female to male. The man, Eli Oberman, didn’t have enough money or the medical coverage to remove the remaining female parts, and also wasn’t sure he was ready for a complete separation that would cause some potentially serious hormonal changes.

The article states how medical professionals are working to come up with a system that helps LGBTQ individuals get the health care they need, starting with removing the ban on transgender surgery and hormone treatments, as well as removing the problems and inappropriate treatment encountered by traditionally masculine looking transgender men in gynecologist’s offices.

Many transgender individuals feel uncomfortable going to doctors for help with the genitalia they still have from birth but no longer identify with, and Oberman hopes that by speaking about his breast cancer experience and treatments that it will help other individuals going through the same thing.

I believe this story is newsworthy especially because of the recent conversation of transgender people being allowed in bathrooms, but people tend to forget these struggles unless they know someone personally who is part of the LGBTQ. The article went into a lot of depth about the medical aspects while also focusing on Oberman’s story specifically. I think that the article had a weak first sentence, which can’t really be considered a lead because it was such a general statement. The following sentences however, gave the reader an idea what the story was about, but I feel like the author could have included why this story was relevant now, stating earlier the fact that Oberman has just recently spoken out about all of this instead of burying it in the middle of the article.

The article seems to be aimed at the general public who have no knowledge of the transgender community, but also seems to be urging those who are LGBTQ to focus on their health and not be ashamed to do so through the words of Oberman. The article seems to stay pretty objective, the author doesn’t give their own opinion. I think the author did a nice job including everything, as it is a long, detailed story, but could have rearranged a few small parts so the article seemed more relevant to today.

The link to the original story can be found here: http://www.nytimes.com/2016/10/17/health/transgender-health-care-breast-cancer.html?hpw&rref=health&action=click&pgtype=Homepage&module=well-region&region=bottom-well&WT.nav=bottom-well