Homophobia, racism, sexism, and ageism in cancer care
Health care disparities are differences in adequate and appropriate care for marginalized or socially excluded people based on either implicit or explicit biases against them.
HOMOPHOBIA IN CANCER TREATMENT:
The care an LGBTQ+ person receives can be impacted by health care disparities.
If LGBTQ+ people don’t have a medical provider they can trust, it sometimes leads to delayed routine check-ups, screenings and other early detection exams because of simple yet cruel prejudice. This may lead to late diagnosis or other errors at a stage where it gets harder to treat the patient .Patients can sometimes end up traumatized or be denied the required treatment completely. Restricted/ limited medical options can multiply the stress of the diagnosis. source
Reasons LGBTQ+ populations report feeling uncomfortable include:
Fear of discrimination: LGBTQ+ individuals may worry that disclosing their sexual orientation or gender identity will affect the quality of health care they receive.
Negative experiences: Fear of non-affirming interactions with healthcare providers can limit openness, safety and trust.
Lower rates of health insurance: Health insurance policies sometimes do not recognize unmarried partners. This makes it harder to get the needed health care coverage. Legal protections against discrimination at both the state and federal level are inconsistent.
Outright denial of care: While acceptance of LGBTQ+ identities is rising, homophobia and transphobia remain stark realities. Some may find themselves having to fight for the care they deserve. For example, one in five transgender patients have been turned away by a health care provider. Source
In the cancer care system, many nurses fail/ignore that sensitive care needs to be provided to the gay, lesbian and transgender population.
SEXISM IN CANCER TREATMENT:
“Women are often shown more aggressive care than men in many treatment cases, be it cancer, diabetes or any traumatic/ non-traumatic treatment” proving sexism has always existed in healthcare of all sorts. Source
Doctors have often written off any form of headaches and body pains as side effects of sleep deprivation or stress, ignoring the physical signs of the female patients, where many times it may be a tumor which often results in late diagnosis which leads to late and difficult treatment. Source
Most of the campaigns held to promote awareness often result in sexualization and objectification of women in the name of breast cancer awareness which can offend those who have/ are going through treatment. treating women's health as a joke causes great harm which is often pushed away. A breast cancer diagnosis leads to the disfigurement or amputation of a breast, which often results in discrimination on many different levels and can take a huge toll on mental health. Taking women's breast health seriously could help reduce the rising incidence of breast cancer. Source
RACISM IN CANCER TREATMENT:
The lack of inclusive studies makes it hard to know the conditions and potential treatments affect different populations. With more research participation, studies may point to potentially unique risk factors for Black women developing certain cancers and reasons why they die of them at higher rates.
Due to racial discrimination, African Americans experience enormous risks in treatment. In particular, black women who suffer from breast cancer were treated by the radiation therapy, and were then not expected to obtain support services for rehabilitation.
AGEISM IN CANCER TREATMENT:
A survey into ageism and attitudes towards elderly patients with cancer were undertaken by Macmillan Cancer Support, Age UK, and the UK Department of Health generated media reports suggesting that most elderly patients (ie, those older than 65 years) with cancer are not receiving adequate treatment they require.
Ageism may be negative, self-stereotyping, positive, or beneficent. Ageism in cancer care results in age-based disparities in screening and detection.
Studies are still being conducted for older cancer patients but , we still have a long way to go, as older patients may have other problems which might interfere with their cancer treatment which is another reason why younger patients are preferred for cancer treatment. source
While people are taking a stand against mistreatment in cancer care we still have a long way to go, let us pray and hope situations like these get better and patients are given the treatment they require and deserve without any discrimination and mistreatment.