A cancer diagnosis is never neutral for women. They face a social system full of inequalities in information, resource management, and decision-making, which makes it difficult for them to understand their risks, take steps to prevent cancer, and seek early detection. Opportunities to find resources and receive optimal treatment are decreasing. In the face of this system, more and more medical professionals and the public are calling for a more equitable approach to cancer treatment to address gender inequalities.
Women are more likely to die from female-specific cancers than men from male-specific cancers. Although a vaccine exists for the human papillomavirus that causes uterine tumors, in many countries there are no political or administrative measures to vaccinate girls and adolescents, and cancers are not diagnosed early. Many lives have been claimed recently, including that of former Miss Uruguay Cherica de Armas, who was just 26 years old.
A report titled women, power, and cancerpublished a few weeks ago lancet, gathered testimonies from women in 185 countries around the world. Cancer is one of the three leading causes of premature death (death before age 70). The data shows how patriarchy makes it difficult to prevent, diagnose and treat cancer patients.
There is no progress in oncology without research. Patriarchal dynamics contribute to the underrepresentation of women in cancer research. The Geneva-based Union for International Cancer Control brings together 185 institutions, including hospitals, other treatment centers and research institutes, but only 16% are headed by women. In other words, women do not directly participate in decisions made in more than 80% of their representative bodies.
Cancer researchers need to publish their research advances to advance their careers. However, less than 20% of the top 100 cancer research journals have a female editor-in-chief. Clearly, many talented women still lack leadership opportunities due to reasons such as gender bias, lack of support and guidance, and workplace harassment. We must not forget that this year’s Nobel Prize in Medicine winner, Catalin Carrico, was demoted multiple times and even forced into early retirement. How many male Nobel Prize winners in medicine have received the same treatment?
It is worth asking whether, if there were fewer inequalities, we would have made more progress in treating tumors that primarily affect women, such as breast and ovarian cancer. There are other discriminatory factors as well. According to the American Cancer Society, even though black women have lower rates of cancer than white women, their death rate is 40% higher. The cancer prognosis for mothers in single-parent families is worse than that for married women. The prognosis is even worse if the patient is of low socio-economic status.
In some countries, family units are formed through patriarchy, and women do not have access to knowledge and therefore cannot participate in decisions regarding their own illness. Since they have no income, they cannot decide their own treatment. As cancer progresses, people often seek medical attention simply because they have no other options. These include countries where women are violently marginalized and imprisoned for demanding their rights, such as in Iran, the country of origin of this year’s Nobel Peace Prize winner Narges Mohammadi, and in countries where old prejudices against cancer are prevalent. It’s not just the countries where it’s happening. Asymmetries are also evident in developed countries. It is a universal power relationship with global implications.
When cancer is widespread, only prevention, not individual treatment, can stop it. A lot of money goes into breast cancer research, but most of that money is focused on treatment. The risk factors for this cancer, one of the most common tumors in the world, are still poorly understood. Further prevention research is needed. We do not fully understand new risks, such as hygiene products and cosmetics marketed almost exclusively to women based on patriarchal and racist notions of beauty. What impact do these products have on women’s health in the long term? The example of talcum powder, which women use for intimate hygiene and has been linked to ovarian cancer, should raise alarm. It should ring. After decades of hormonal treatment for women, contraceptives for men are slowly emerging.
Women interact with cancer in complex ways. They are not only cancer patients, but also participants in cancer prevention and detection. They are caregivers, activists, health workers, researchers, and policy makers. In all of these areas, women experience gender bias and are exposed to overlapping forms of discrimination based on age, race, ethnicity, socio-economic status, sexual orientation, and gender identity. Together, these factors result in an unduly overburdened and perpetuated unpaid workforce of cancer caregivers, who are predominantly female, and hinder women’s career advancement as leaders in oncology research, clinical practice, and cancer policy development. is hindering.
Cancer prognosis is influenced not only by patient genetics and tumor cellular and molecular characteristics, but also by numerous socio-economic and political factors. According to the conclusion, cancer is one of the most common causes of premature death in women. lancet It is patriarchy, and its pernicious logic permeates the actions and decisions of both men and women. For all these reasons, a cancer diagnosis is never neutral.
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