Breast Cancer Patient Denied Treatment For Making ‘Transphobic Remarks’

Marlene Barbera, an Oregon woman suffering from advanced breast cancer, has alleged that she has been cut off from receiving any further treatment at Oregon Health & Science University facilities after expressing her opinion to her doctor and other staff members regarding transgender ideology.

Prior to this event, Barbera had been a patient of the Richmond Family Medicine Clinic in Portland for 12 years and was scheduled to have a double mastectomy procedure with them in late August.

Barbera reportedly sent a MyChart message to her doctor expressing concerns about the transgender flag hanging in the clinic’s reception area, noting she had been threatened by trans activists on social media.

“I have been threatened on Twitter by trans activists with rape and death — so it is daunting to go for medical treatment with that banner proclaiming that what I am, an adult human female, is a mere opt-in category for any gender non-conforming male and not a reality,” she wrote to her doctor via MyChart message.

Not only had Barbera’s concerns been dismissed, she indicated, but the MyChart message she had presumed to be private had been seen by various members of the clinic staff and not just her doctor.

After this exchange, it appears communications between Barbera and the clinic became strained; when she called asking for blood work results, the receptionist allegedly refused to help and suggested she make an appointment instead.

When asked if she had hurt someone’s feelings, Barbera replied jokingly but the conversation escalated until eventually, they hung up.

A few weeks later, OHSU practice manager Stein Berger sent a MyChart message accusing Barbera of making “transphobic remarks” and followed up with an email confirming that all OHSU facilities were cutting ties with her effective July 29th.

Despite being denied access to medical care because of her gender-critical beliefs, Barbera remains steadfast in her convictions:

“Gender ideology is a religion…The trans movement says a man is allowed to define being a woman by way of his feelings but that a woman is not allowed to define being a woman by way of her material reality. So really, it is a men’s rights movement dangerous for women and children.”

Barbera, who also suffers from “severe chronic agitated depression,” has been quite anxious since the email arrived.

Chaya Raichik, who runs the popular Libs of TikTok X account, claimed that Barbera is exploring other “actions she can take against the hospital.”

However, those actions won’t help Barbera in her fight against breast cancer.

OHSU did not respond when contacted for comment on this matter.

ICYMI: HuffPost Response From a Trans Parent