September marked Ovarian Cancer Awareness Month, but the need for greater research, better treatment, and improved early detection does not end when the month does. Ovarian cancer is expected to cause nearly 14,000 deaths in the US this year. Despite the burden of the disease, detecting ovarian cancer early remains a significant challenge.
Ovarian cancer is actually the deadliest cancer among women and the number one cause of gynecologic cancer deaths. Additionally, only 15% of patients are diagnosed in early stages. Meaning the vast majority of individuals are diagnosed in advanced stages, their survival rate of 30.8%. This tragic reality is largely due to a lack of early detection testing.
Other cancers, such as breast cancer, have preventive measures, such as mammograms routinely recommended; so what’s preventing ovarian cancer from having similar life-saving services?
Breast cancer is the most funded women’s health condition, surpassing ovarian cancer funding levels by billions. Over a span of 25 years, the federal government funded prostate cancer 5.5 times more than ovarian cancer, allocating $276.5 million to the ovarian and $1.53 billion to the prostate.
Given this, you may assume prostate cancer has more detrimental effects than ovarian cancer. However, ovarian cancer actually has under half of prostate cancer’s survival rate. Additionally, when comparing funding levels between the two cancers, relative to the amount of life lost due to each, prostate cancer was funded 19 times more than ovarian cancer over seven years. This significant absence of funding makes it difficult to attract young researchers to pursue new initiatives, let alone sustain ongoing research.
Unfortunately, this phenomenon does not exist in a vacuum. Despite women making up over half of the US population, women’s health as a whole is disproportionately underfunded.
Between 2013 and 2023, the National Institutes of Health’s budget increased by 58.7%; however, within the same period, the Women’s Health Research Agencies’ budget decreased from 9.7% to 7.9%. Additionally, out of the US’s $2.9 trillion budget, a measly 6% is spent on conditions affecting women. Internationally, we see the same trends, as women spend 25% more of their lives in poor health or with disabilities when compared to men. This reality has caused women to lose 75 million years of life globally.
Outside of preserving millions of years of life, supporting women’s health would significantly add to the economy. Domestically, a $350 million investment in women’s health would add $14 billion to the economy. Additionally, globally addressing women’s poorer health outcomes would add a minimum of $1 trillion to the global economy by 2040.
Women’s lives deserve to be valued. The absence of funding for ovarian cancer is just one example of the neglect women experience due to a globally broken system. Ovarian Cancer Awareness Month is over, but the international neglect of women’s health is not. Women’s health should not be limited to a month on the calendar. Research, treatment, and prevention efforts must continue throughout the year.