Unequal Access, Uneven Outcomes: How Interventional Radiology Could Address Gender Inequity in Cancer Care

By 2040, more than six million people in England could face a cancer diagnosis; that’s one every two minutes. But as cancer rates rise, so too does the inequality in how patients are treated. In Unequal Access, Uneven Outcomes, Éva Malpass examines an emerging medical frontier that could change the future of cancer care, and why most people, especially women, still don’t know it exists.

Interventional Radiology (IR), a branch of medicine using minimally invasive, image-guided procedures to destroy tumours, is quietly transforming cancer treatment. Techniques like cryoablation and thermal ablation can remove or shrink tumours without the need for surgery, making them life-changing for patients who are older, have multiple conditions, or simply want less invasive options.

So why isn’t IR widely available in the NHS? Malpass investigates the postcode lottery that leaves some women offered cutting-edge treatments while others never hear about them. Workforce shortages, funding gaps, and poor awareness among clinicians mean thousands of patients miss out, not for medical reasons, but because of where they live or who they see.

From Phool’s promise of equal access to care to BSIR’s campaign for representation in every cancer team, this feature exposes how policy blind spots and gender inequity intertwine within the UK’s cancer system.

As charities warn of a “tidal wave” of diagnoses, The View Magazine asks: can innovation like IR deliver the equality women have waited for, or will healthcare progress remain a privilege of postcode and class?

Read the full story in The View 15, where science, justice, and gender equality converge.

Opinion article by The View.

Order The View 15 here:  https://theviewmag.org.uk/product/the-view-magazine-issue-15/