Women, Power, and Cancer: A Public Health Review

Cancer affects women not only as a biological disease but also through social, economic, cultural, and political pathways. Women interact with cancer as individuals at risk, patients, survivors, family caregivers, health professionals, researchers, advocates, and policy-makers. However, gender inequality and unequal power relations continue to shape women’s exposure to cancer risk factors, access to prevention and screening, timeliness of diagnosis, treatment adherence, survivorship outcomes, palliative care experiences, unpaid caregiving responsibilities, and professional opportunities within oncology systems. This review examines gender inequities across the cancer continuum, moving beyond a narrow focus on “women’s cancers” to consider cancer as a broader women’s health and public health priority. Drawing on global evidence and the conceptual framework advanced by the Lancet Commission on women, power, and cancer, the article highlights how asymmetries in decision-making, knowledge, economics, and leadership influence cancer outcomes. Particular attention is given to unpaid caregiving, financial vulnerability, oncology workforce inequities, and the need for gender-responsive cancer control policies. A gender-responsive approach to oncology requires sex-disaggregated data, equitable access to prevention and treatment, caregiver support, financial protection, integration of palliative care, and stronger representation of women in cancer leadership. Recognizing the relationship between women, power, and cancer is essential for more equitable, humane, and sustainable cancer care.