Outreach Report

by Dan McKinley

(The Gender Centre advise that this article may not be current and as such certain content, including but not limited to persons, contact details and dates may not apply. Where legal authority or medical related matters are cited, responsibility lies with the reader to obtain the most current relevant legal authority and/or medical publication.)

Hello All!

I'm Dan McKinley, the Outreach Worker at the Gender Centre. I will be writing health reports for this, and future editions of Polare.

In this issue you will find an important report on Hepatitis C, which will answer some common questions about transmission, symptoms, testing and support.

Next issue I will be covering treatment options that are available for people living with Hepatitis C. I trust you will take the time to read the article and share the information with those important to you. Remember "Prevention is better than cure". I've also chosen to focus on a new form of long lasting, injectable testosterone that is now available in Australia. This new form of testosterone can drastically reduce the number of injections from as many as twenty-six to as few as four. As usual though, not all medications are suitable for everybody so please talk to your G.P. about suitability and availability, and most importantly, never take any medication that has not been prescribed specifically for you.

Those of you who have been able to access the Centre may have attended some health information sessions that we have held here over the last few months.

In December 2005 and April 2006 Peter, from the Hepatitis C Council of N.S.W., kindly attended our Wednesday night drop-in to speak about Hep. C. We have been lucky enough, on both occasions, to secure a "C-een and Heard Speaker" who accompanied Peter.

"C-een and Heard Speakers" are, or were, Hepatitis C positive and speak openly and honestly about their experiences with Hep. C. The feedback from clients here was very positive. Rob from ACON also came out to the Centre in January 2006 to speak about H.I.V. / AIDS. The feedback again was very positive.

In December last year we also had Maggie from Livingstone Road Sexual Health Clinic and Dash from R.P.A. Health Promotions come out to provide F.T.M. clients with an informative session that covered all aspects of sexual health, as well as gynaecological issues such as pap smears that face F.T.M.s who have not had total hysterectomies.

We hope that we can repeat this session for all who missed out. Please let me know if you'd be interested in attending. Dates and times will be confirmed at a later date (please check the website regularly for a listing of all the events the Gender Centre is hosting). On a side note if you are F.T.M. and would like to be placed on a mailing list here at the Centre (so that we can provide you with information on sessions that the Gender Centre will be running specifically for F.T.M.s. Please contact Sean or me and we will be happy to add you to the list.

Between October and December this year, we will again be asking Peter from the Hep. C Council and Rob from ACON to speak about Hep. C and H.I.V. respectively. We hope that if you have not had a chance to attend these sessions you will come to the drop-in, have a great meal, socialise, and learn about some issues that are really important in maintaining your health. Dates and times will be available on our website closer to the time. At the moment, I have several ideas in the pipeline and hope to be able to offer some information sessions on recreational drug use, surgical outcomes and health and fitness.

In closing, if any of you have an interest in something related to trans-health that you would like to see either here in Polare or as an information session at the Centre, please let me know (9569 2366). As Polare is printed only four times a year I won't be able to research everybody's requests, nor hold information sessions on all topics, but I will do my best to take note of reader interests and provide you all with balanced reports and sessions. So until next edition, take care and be safe!

Polare is published in Australia by The Gender Centre Inc. which is funded by the Department of Community Services under the S.A.A.P. Program and supported by the N.S.W. Health Department through the AIDS and Infectious Diseases Branch. Polare provides a forum for discussion and debate on gender issues. Advertisers are advised that all advertising is their responsibility under the Trade Practices Act. Unsolicited contributions are welcome, though no guarantee is made by the Editor that they will be published, nor any discussion entered into. The editor reserves the right to edit such contributions without notification. Any submission which appears in Polare may be published on our internet site. Opinions expressed in this publication do not necessarily reflect those of the Editor, The Gender Centre Inc.I, the Department of Community Services or the N.S.W. Department of Health.