‘I desperately need 6,000 to have my breasts removed – I can’t wait any longer’ – Mirror Online

A transgender man desperate to have his breasts removed says he "can't wait two and a half years" for an NHS spot.

Jesse Churchill, 24, came out as non-binary transmasculine - a person who was assigned female at birth, but who identifies with masculinity to a greater extent than with femininity - in 2017.

His GP referred him to a Gender Identity Clinic (GIC) and the process of his transition began.

But Jesse is still waiting for gender reassignment surgery and says the lengthy NHS waiting list for trans people is "long, harrowing, exhausting and is costing lives", Birmingham Live reports.

Research undertaken by Stonewall, an LGBTQ+ rights charity, shows suicide and self-harm is common for members of the transgender community and almost half of young trans people have attempted to take their own life.

According to research, the longer they have to wait for the surgery to correct their gender, the longer they are forced to suffer with gender dysphoria.

Jess, from Great Barr, Birmingham, came out as bisexual when he was 15 but did not reveal his true gender identity until he was 22.

Despite getting himself on the list to correct his gender back in 2017, when the waiting time was estimated to be two years, he has suffered multiple delays.

The 24-year-old is now attempting to crowdfund 6,300 and pay for the surgery privately.

He said: "It wasnt until I met people within the community that I was able to access the proper language and education that I could comfortably figure out my gender expression and identity.

"I never had any queer friends growing up, despite being out as bi since I was 15. I then fully came out as non-binary trans masc in 2017.

"My family and friends were fantastic about it all, although my mum didnt quite understand at first, shes really taken it on board and is beyond supportive.

"Ive been incredibly lucky to be loved and supported by such wonderful people in my life. As soon as I came out I went to my GP to get referred to a GIC as I knew the waiting time was very long.

"I still decided to seek private health care to get testosterone, which Ive been on for over a year now. My plan was to get hormones privately and then wait for the NHS to get top surgery."

He continues: "Id heard stories of people not having their referral ever received so out of fear I decided to contact my GIC, bear in mind their minimum waiting time was 2 years and I was coming up to that when I contacted them.

"They confirmed they have my referral but regretted to inform me that the minimum time has now increased so Id be waiting even longer.

"The wait time for my GIC has been extended to two and a half years, and again this is only the minimum wait time, anyone could be waiting much longer than that.

"Even then when you do get an appointment, it's not just the one you have, and I've known people wait up to 12 months in between appointments, then you've got to get a surgery referral and be put on a surgeon's long waiting list.

"The NHS wait for trans people is long, harrowing, exhausting and is costing lives."

Mental health problems are effecting the trans community worldwide and according to the 2016 study by the National Centre for Transgender Equality, of the 17,715 trans people they surveyed, 40% had attempted suicide in the US.

It also found that 14% were sent to therapy by their families in an attempt to 'cure' them, 10% reported violence from a family member and 8% revealed that they were kicked out of their family home.

The UK statistics from the year prior showed that that 34.4% of trans adults had attemptedsuicideat least once and almost 14% of trans adults had attemptedsuicidemore than twice.

Just like other trans men in the wait for surgery, Jesse uses a binder to reduce the appearance of his chest.

"I bind every time I leave the house to completely pass as male," he says.

"As a tall, heavily tattooed man with a beard I pass anyway but binding not only helps with my dysphoria of my chest but also helps me pass safely.

"Its still very dangerous to be obviously trans today and I try my best to avoid any more abuse than I already do.

"As a queer looking man, it doesnt stop people from shouting homophobic slurs at me so I try to minimise any more abuse through binding.

"I bind for long periods of time especially with traveling around the country for my job.

"Its painful and Ive had to cancel seeing family and friends, miss out on events because I know Ill be too exhausted.

"Im 24 and I just want to be able to live how Im supposed to.

"Recommended binding is eight hours a day, and for someone who works full time this is completely unrealistic.

"Long term use can result in pain, damage to breast tissue, discomfort and physical restrictions."

The Nottinghamshire Health NHS Foundation Trust said: "There is currently an exceptional demand for appointments in our service.

"This is due to a large and increasing number of referrals, and the continuing care of our existing service users.

"As a result, unfortunately the waiting time for first appointments continues to rise. It is currently in excess of two and a half years from when we received the referral. This is an estimate and is liable to change depending on the needs of our current service users.

"We sincerely apologise to all our service users who are waiting for a first appointment with us. We appreciate how challenging this can be and we are doing all we can to see people as soon as possible."

Jesse has been campaigning on social media for donations to his GoFundMe page which has now reached 740.

Top surgery is usually the first surgery involved in gender reassignment treatment after extensive hormone replacement therapy.

This procedure involves the removal of the breasts in cases of a female to male transition.

The minimum waiting time for this procedure at NHS Gender clinics is two years but it is more often longer than that.

As patients wait to go under the knife, they wear binders which restrict the breasts and reduce the appearance of them. It is recommended that they are not worn for longer than eight hours at a time as they can become uncomfortable and painful.

Wearing them for long periods can also cause damage to the breast tissue but for some trans men, they have no choice but to wear them for long hours of the day.

Some trans men from lower income families are unable to afford their own binder and resort to making their own which can also cause health problems.

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'I desperately need 6,000 to have my breasts removed - I can't wait any longer' - Mirror Online