Today, in between our biochem/physio lectures and our "how to be a doctor" classes, we had an optional guest discussion by a transgender woman on her experience with the medical field during her journey from Bill to Sally*. I (and apparently whoever ordered food for the event) thought only a few people would likely show, but over 150 students attended (even after the promised lunch was quickly consumed). Doctors, as well as all other health care providers, have to be ready to treat anyone who walks through the door and since the transgender community is very small, this was a rare opportunity to hear from someone with this perspective.
TIL: A person in the midst of a gender reassignment can change their outward appearance, such as through plastic surgery to the face and neck, electively without any other restrictions. They cannot however have sex reassignment surgery without years of paperwork, hormone injections, and mandated psychological evaluations. The speaker today brought up the very interesting point that it is odd that you are allowed to change the parts of you that the world can see, but not the parts that are, well... private.
SMADs are proteins used in the transforming growth factor beta signal pathway. The acronym stands for "small mother's against decapentaplegic" which is a reference to MADD by drosophila fly researchers who spent too much time in the lab. SMADs are often mutated in patients with pancreatic cancer which is one of the reasons pancreatic cancer is so hard to treat. The SMAD cascade is in most cells of the body, so modifying parts of it would have huge negative effects on the body - worse effects than even the cancer you're trying to treat.
*Names changed for anonymity, though her actual name change was just as striking
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