What’s missing in India’s cancer care ecosystem? Gender-intelligent oncology
This article explores the concept of 'gender-intelligent oncology' in India, arguing that social and gender norms significantly impact cancer diagnosis and treatment outcomes. It highlights how cultural barriers often lead to delayed care for both women and men, necessitating a more nuanced approach to healthcare delivery.
Why it matters
Addressing gender-specific barriers in healthcare is essential for improving early detection rates and treatment efficacy in a country with a rapidly rising cancer burden.
India’s cancer burden is rising fast, and the response has largely followed a one-size-fits-all model: build more cancer centres, expand insurance schemes, push early detection campaigns. What this approach often misses is a simple but consequential fact - cancer does not affect men and women equally, and the paths they take to diagnosis, treatment, and recovery are shaped as much by gender as by biology. This is the gap that ‘gender-intelligent oncology’ tries to close.
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