Editorial: Preventable tragedies

At present, cancer care and research is dominated by men who get to decide priorities and funding. There must be equitable access for women to cancer research resources, leadership, and funding

Cancer, the emperor of maladies, knows no gender bias. But, women end up suffering more compared to men. The reasons for higher cancer mortality rate among women are not far to seek: societal apathy towards their health, lack of awareness, absence of quality expertise at the primary care level and delayed access to cancer prevention, detection and care. The latest Lancet Commission report on gender inequality in cancer care, highlighting the disproportionately higher number of cases of deaths among women, must serve as a wake-up call for health authorities worldwide, particularly in India where nearly 69 lakh cancer deaths among women last year were preventable by reducing risk factors, periodic screening, and early diagnosis. The report, titled “Women, Power and Cancer”, examined how asymmetries of power in relation to cancer play out in terms of decision-making, knowledge and economics in 185 countries. The findings are disconcerting. Not only is cancer one of the top three leading causes of premature deaths among women worldwide, but women are less likely to find the care they need once diagnosed, due to a lack of knowledge and decision-making power. They are also more likely to experience financial catastrophe due to cancer. Even as the most common cancer among women around the world is breast cancer, very little is still understood about its causes and the occupational and environmental hazards that could lead to cancer in women are woefully under-researched. The official data in India shows that the top three cancers— breast, cervical, ovarian — have been the leading causes of death.

Women face multiple challenges in accessing timely and appropriate care in the absence of knowledge, decision-making and financial powers and availability of services at the primary level closer to home. On the part of the governments, the most important intervention is to create awareness among people, especially women, so that they come forward for screening and seek care. There is also a need for regularly collecting data on gender and social demographics for cancer health statistics and effectively enforcing laws and policies that reduce exposures to known cancer risks. At present, cancer care and research is dominated by men who get to decide priorities and funding. There must be equitable access for women to cancer research resources, leadership, and funding. The number of cancer patients in India is projected to increase to 29.8 million by 2025. These figures, apart from being depressing, come as a warning for health authorities and the general public as well. Even with improvements in treatment, both the incidence of cancer and mortality continue to rise in the country. There is an urgent need for improving curative, palliative and preventive measures and strengthening cancer care infrastructure. A robust health system programmes that help in early detection, controlling risk factors and effectively treating diseases in a cost-effective manner is the way forward.