Discrimination against women increases the risk of cancer

2023-09-29 09:04:00, Shëndeti CNA

Discrimination against women increases the risk of cancer

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Worldwide, cancer is one of the three most common causes of premature death in women under the age of 70. Of the 2.3 million women who die each year from cancer, around 1.5 million could be saved, a new analysis claims - but only if the process of early detection of the disease is improved and eliminated. The main risks that lead to the appearance of cancer. Another 800,000 deaths could be prevented if all women had access to optimal cancer treatment.

The discussion about cancer in women - according to the statements of the Lancet Commission, which wants to make recommendations to politicians who make decisions about the organization of health and social care systems - often focuses on "women's cancer", such as breast or cervical cancer of the uterus.

However, each year about 300,000 women under the age of 70 die from lung cancer and 160,000 from colon cancer. In recent decades, in many high-income countries, the number of deaths from lung cancer among women is higher than from breast cancer, says Dr Izabele Soerjomataram, vice-president of the Cancer Surveillance Division at the International Agency for Research on Cancer. of Cancer (IARC). She is also one of the directors of the Lancet.

The feminist approach

The main reason why women have such poor access to preventive measures, cancer diagnosis and treatment of this disease is, first of all, gender inequality. Therefore, the Lancet Commission advocates for a new "feminist agenda" in the treatment of cancer, in order to eliminate this inequality between the sexes, that is, discrimination against women.

In the health systems, as it is claimed, in the treatment of cancer and in the research of this disease, the needs of women should be taken into account much more intensively, in order to reduce the risk of cancer in the female population at the global level.

During the preparation of the new report "Women, power and cancer: The Lancet Commission" a very diverse team of international experts in fields such as human rights, gender equality, law, economics, sociology, cancer prevention and treatment, have been presented and the interests of patients.

"All over the world, the issue of women's health often focuses on their reproductive health and the role of mother, which is closely related to the anti-feminist definition of the value and role of women in society. At the same time, the issue of cancer is much more little treated," says Dr. Ofira Ginsburg, a senior advisor for clinical research at the Center for Global Health's Cancer Institute in the US.

Risk factors

Judging by the statements of the Lancet Commission, the risk factors for the occurrence of cancer in women should be studied more precisely, considering that they are less known than the risk factors when it comes to the occurrence of cancer in men. There are many indications that there is a definite link between specific products used mainly by women, for example for skin whitening or for "ironing" the hair, and an increased risk of cancer.

Many women are completely unaware of the many risk factors that can be eliminated relatively easily: about 1.3 million women of all age groups died in 2020 as a result of the four most important risk factors that affect cancer: smoking, alcohol, obesity and infections. Many women simply underestimate these factors. Thus, a 2019 study concluded that only 19 percent of women in Great Britain who participated in a program of preventive examinations aimed at early detection of cancer even knew that one of the main factors influencing the occurrence of breast cancer is alcohol.

"We are of the opinion that the time has come for governments to act on this with a policy based on the specifics of sex, a policy that strengthens awareness of those risk factors, that is, reduces women's exposure to these factors," he says. Dr. Izabele Soerjomataram.

Women's demands

As many women in the world are discriminated against in terms of their opportunities for education and employment, they often do not have the financial resources necessary to pay for expensive cancer treatments.

And there is another problem: given that men generally do not take the main burden of caring for children, women suffering from cancer are often unable to take care of their own health, says one of the authors of the study, prof. Nirmala Bu-Pati, from the University of Malaya and Queen's University Belfast. "Due to gender role norms, women are often expected to put the needs of their families before their own needs or even at the expense of their own health, which sometimes makes it difficult to use health services.

Women as unpaid carers

The discriminatory roles between the sexes are also responsible for the fact that it is mainly women who assume the role of unpaid caregivers of people with cancer, mostly without adequate appreciation from society. This is why the Lancet Commission is calling for the introduction of fairer and more comprehensive standards regarding wages for the care of cancer patients.

Discrimination against women in many societies, according to the Lancet, is also the reason why the promotion of women in the profession to leadership positions in cancer research, cancer policy or the attitude towards cancer in practice is being "held back". According to them, this is one of the main reasons that today there are so few preventive measures "tailored" to the needs of women, that is, cancer treatment measures adapted to the female population. This also applies to hospitals, cancer treatment centers or research institutes, in which, globally, women play a leadership role in only 16 percent of cases.

Strengthening women's rights

In addition, the Commission also advocates the respect of gender-specific themes in all policy areas related to the relationship with cancer, that is, guidelines related to that theme - in order to respond fairly to the needs and wishes of all women.

In addition, the Commission emphasizes, strategies are needed to strengthen women's awareness of risk factors, i.e. cancer symptoms, as well as improvements in the field of equal access to treatments for early disease detection and cancer diagnosis. All this can be ensured in a better way with equal representation of women in leadership positions, adds the study of the Lancet Commission./DW