Should it: Why does gender discrimination affect the dynamics of cancer in women?

The issue of women’s health is one of the most sensitive and at the same time ignored issues. Discussing serious diseases such as cancer is considered taboo. This is why many women choose to remain silent when faced with a difficult diagnosis, because even in this situation, the woman “should” remain strong.

This is a global issue for women all over the world.

An underdeveloped economy and healthcare system are not the only reasons for the high incidence of cancer among women. According to a study published in The Lancet, the increase in new cases in low-income countries is only a third higher than in high-income countries, but the death rate is the same. The Lancet commission conducted a study among women suffering mainly from breast and cervical cancer and concluded that the reason lies in the underdevelopment of gender equality systems: women do not receive the necessary support and care for such serious diseases. The death toll was estimated to be approximately 2 million; 800,000 of these were premature deaths and could have been prevented. Additionally, care work, mostly performed by women, is undervalued and remains unpaid when it comes to family care.

Moral barriers contribute

Many women choose to fight cancer on their own; Most of the time, even their closest people are not aware of their illness. Here you can identify a cocktail of various reasons for such behavior. These include worrying about upsetting the morale of family and friends and trying to avoid feeling remorseful in the other person’s eyes. Often, the disease of breast or cervical cancer in women is accompanied by the fear that she is “not that”, that she has ceased to be “a woman” in the full sense of the word. Traditional ideas about femininity perpetuated in society make it difficult to decide whether to undergo a potentially life-saving mastectomy, hysterectomy, or oophorectomy. All these reasons for silence become an obstacle to timely treatment and support, which is so necessary for every woman facing cancer.

We are many, we need support, we don’t need to stay silent

The first thing we can do to help ourselves is to undergo regular routine examinations with doctors to eliminate the risk of developing serious diseases over time. Secondly, do not remain silent, openly share all your symptoms, thoughts and feelings with your doctor, rejecting the fear of judgment, as this will help you monitor and address deficiencies in the healthcare system much more effectively. Third, if you need moral support, ask for help, share your fears, and get the company of your closest people during the operation and examination process. It is very important to realize that we are not alone in this struggle. Cancer is in no way about shame and condemnation; It is a terrible disease but still needs to be treated: With timely diagnosis, the chance of recovery is very high.