Pediatric Palliative Care of a Transgender Adolescent

Title

Pediatric Palliative Care of a Transgender Adolescent

Creator

Seachrist K; Somers E; Petras L; Didden E; Deci SE; Tomboc P; Kidd KM

Publisher

Pediatrics

Date

2024

Subject

Hospice Care; Palliative Care; Adolescence; Gender Identity; Drug Therapy; Diagnosis; Multidisciplinary Care Team; Pathology; Gender Affirming Care; Gender Affirming Hormone Therapy; Sarcoma; Synovial Membrane

Description

A 15-year-old patient with metastatic synovial sarcoma conveyed to his palliative care physician that his dying wish was to start gender-affirming hormone therapy. His medical team was able to identify resources to support both him and his family as they navigated the immense difficulty of a cancer diagnosis and began to understand their child's gender identity. Literature on the care of gender diverse pediatric patients with terminal illness is minimal, but applications from adult literature, and research on supporting gender diverse adolescents more broadly, provided guidance for palliative care, oncology, and gender-affirming care teams. We believe that honoring and supporting the gender identity of adolescents with terminal illness is an essential aspect of end-of-life care. This case report outlines challenges faced by multidisciplinary pediatric team members who provided gender-affirming care for a minor under hospice care and amplifies the need for future research and guidelines pertinent to this patient population.

Rights

Article information provided for research and reference use only. PedPalASCNET does not hold any rights over the resource listed here. All rights are retained by the journal listed under publisher and/or the creator(s).

Citation List Month

September List 2024

Collection

Citation

Seachrist K; Somers E; Petras L; Didden E; Deci SE; Tomboc P; Kidd KM, “Pediatric Palliative Care of a Transgender Adolescent,” Pediatric Palliative Care Library, accessed February 10, 2025, https://pedpalascnetlibrary.omeka.net/items/show/19735.