NHS bosses have quietly removed word ‘WOMEN’ on advice pages about ovarian and womb cancer
Consultation of a gynecologist, doctor and woman patient is talking in a gynecological office. Female ovarian ultrasound results
Official NHS advice about ovarian, womb and cervix cancers have quietly removed the word ‘women’ from their webpages, MailOnline can reveal.
The term was missing from the landing pages of three sections explaining cancers only found in biological women.
It comes amid ongoing concerns about trans-inclusive language in NHS guidance, with services currently in a ‘woke‘ storm about de-gendering language surrounding women and pregnancy by erasing terms like breastfeeding.
Some student midwives have even been taught how to help biological men give birth, even though it’s scientifically impossible.
The original version of the ovarian NHS cancer page featured the line: ‘Ovarian cancer, or cancer of the ovaries, is one of the most common types of cancer in women.’
It also highlights the women who may be particularly at risk, saying: ‘Ovarian cancer mainly affects women who have been through the menopause (usually over the age of 50), but it can sometimes affect younger women.’
However, in an update sneaked out in January — which campaigners only uncovered this week — both lines were removed.
Instead, another line was added: ‘Anyone with ovaries can get ovarian cancer, but it mostly affects those over 50.’
Experts also warned the change could actually be dangerous for women by over-complicating health messaging.
But the NHS has defended the update, stating it seeks to make the pages ‘as helpful as possible to everyone who needs them’.
There about 7,500 new ovarian cancer cases in the UK each year, with around 4,200 deaths.
Similar changes have also been made to the NHS’s womb cancer page, which used to open with: ‘Cancer of the womb (uterine or endometrial cancer) is a common cancer that affects the female reproductive system.’
‘It’s more common in women who have been through the menopause.’
But the page was changed in October last year to omit these lines, with no other mention of women on the main page.
The same has happened to the NHS cervical cancer page with the previous version stating: ‘Cervical cancer develops in a woman’s cervix (the entrance to the womb from the vagina). It mainly affects sexually active women aged between 30 and 45.’
While the new version does feature a diagram of vagina, womb and cervix, no mention of women or woman is made.
There are about 9,700 womb cancer cases in the UK a year, with some 2,400 deaths. And there are about 3,200 new cervical cancer cases, with around 850 deaths.
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