The global launch of Women, power and cancer: A Lancet Commission

Agenda:

This Commission was created to investigate the nexus of women, power, and cancer. As such, our collective work looks beyond “women’s cancers” and the biomedical aspects of any type of cancer that women- in all their diversities - might experience.



It is inclusive of the ways in which sex and gender influence exposures to cancer risk factors, interactions with the cancer health system, and specific challenges faced by healthcare professionals, advocates, and caregivers. In all these domains, women can experience gender bias and overlapping forms of discrimination, such as those due to age, race, ethnicity, socio-economic status, sexual orientation, and gender identity, that render them structurally marginalized. But it doesn’t have to be this way.



By applying an intersectional feminist approach, we investigate, expose, and challenge the prevailing asymmetries of power in relation to cancer in three key domains: decision-making, knowledge, and economics.



In this launch event, we present our key findings and propose a set of recommendations which we hope will inspire real-world action for transformational change. For more information about the Commission, visit https://womenandcancercommission.org.