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Gender Affirming Care at
The Breast Health Center at Kent Hospital

The Highest Quality Care

The Breast Health Center team believes that identifying with a gender that is different from one’s sex is part of the normal variety of the human experience and that people with all gender identities, including non-binary and genderqueer identities, deserve equal access to the highest quality care.

Contact Information

Kent Breast Health Center 
455 Toll Gate Rd 
Warwick, RI 02886 
P: 401-736-3737 ext. 2

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Multifaceted Gender Affirming Care

We understand that it can be difficult to get personalized information about personal risk of breast cancer, screening recommendations, genetic testing, and gender-affirming surgery. People of all gender identities have varying levels of breast cancer risk, influenced by hormone use, personal and surgical history, as well as family history. 

The Gender Affirming Clinic at Kent Breast Health Center offers personalized consultation to discuss your own personal risk factors. 

  • Breast Cancer Screening

    • If you have had prior gender-affirming chest surgery or breast augmentation, or if you are considering it, we will review the recommendations for breast cancer screening, as well as ways to assess your own personal risk of breast cancer in your lifetime. We base screening recommendations on your body, not just your gender or sex assigned at birth.
  • Genetic Counseling and Testing 

    • If you have a family history of any type of cancer, we can also connect you with certified genetic counselors for testing. Genetic test results can be used to guide decision-making about cancer-related screening studies and surgical decision-making. We will always start with a consultation so we can address all your concerns and questions about the results.

For patients who choose to have gender-affirming top surgery, the Breast Health Center at Kent can help.

We will work with you and your health care providers to understand your goals and develop personalized plans to meet your needs. Not all people in the gender spectrum want or need gender-confirming medical or surgical treatment, however, those with distress or gender dysphoria have a right to these medically necessary procedures.

If a person’s discomfort is negatively affecting their quality of life and/or relationships, the goal of gender-affirming surgery is to help individuals achieve better gender congruence by improving their desired physical gender expression and allowing them to inhabit their bodies more comfortably. We feel strongly this leads to improved self-confidence, overall mental health, and a greater sense of security and safety in public and private settings.

Gender-affirming surgery is not a single procedure, but a complex team process involving multiple medical, mental health, and surgical specialties working together. At The Breast Health Center at Kent, our surgical focus and expertise is top surgery. This includes masculinizing chest surgery in transmen and nonbinary individuals, and feminizing breast surgery for transwomen and nonbinary individuals. We follow the standards of care set forth by the World Professional Association for Transgender Health (WPATH).

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Insurance Information

Though gender-affirming surgery is medically necessary, there is still great variability in coverage and medical necessity criteria for gender-affirming top surgery across insurance companies. The Breast Health Center at Kent is not able to recommend particular insurance companies or plans, as there is much variation from insurer to insurer and plan to plan. If you have questions about your insurance coverage for gender-affirming medical care, please contact your insurance company directly.

While we can inform people about the insurance plans that are accepted for payment at Care New England (and most plans are accepted) the fact that a plan is accepted at Care New England does not provide any information about what services the insurance plan will cover. In order to know what one’s insurance plan will cover, it is necessary to call the insurer and ask them directly. In order to ensure accurate information from the insurer, it is sometimes advisable to obtain a copy of one’s actual insurance plan.