National health policy must formally recognise ovarian cancer as a priority within women’s health and non-communicable disease strategies, writes Rafe Sadnan Adel
BANGLADESH has made important progress in expanding healthcare access over the past decades, yet ovarian cancer remains one of the country’s most overlooked and under-discussed public health challenges. Unlike breast or cervical cancer, ovarian cancer receives little public attention, limited policy focus and minimal awareness investment despite its high mortality rate. Most women in Bangladesh are diagnosed at advanced stage, not because treatment is impossible, but because awareness remains dangerously low and early symptoms are frequently ignored, misread, or dismissed.
A study ‘Experiences of Women with Ovarian Cancer in 22 Low- and Middle-Income Countries (Every Woman Study LMICs)’, published in The Lancet Global Health under the leadership of the World Ovarian Cancer Coalition, highlights the serious barriers women across low- and middle-income countries face in accessing timely diagnosis, treatment and psychosocial support. Its findings strongly reflect the reality in Bangladesh, where many women continue to navigate a healthcare system that lacks adequate awareness campaigns, clear referral pathways and community-level education regarding ovarian cancer symptoms.
The symptoms of ovarian cancer are often vague and non-specific — abdominal bloating, pelvic pain, digestive discomfort, loss of appetite, or persistent fatigue. In Bangladesh, such symptoms are frequently treated as minor gastric problems or routine women’s health issues rather than possible warning signs of a serious disease. Social stigma, low health literacy, financial hardship, and the absence of structured public awareness further delay diagnosis. By the time many patients reach tertiary hospitals, the disease has already advanced to life-threatening stages.
For years, Bangladesh’s national cancer response has focused heavily on treatment infrastructure — building hospitals, expanding radiotherapy facilities, and increasing access to chemotherapy. These investments are undoubtedly necessary. However, Bangladesh cannot treat its way out of a cancer crisis without investing equally in awareness and early recognition. A healthcare system that waits for women to arrive at hospitals with advanced-stage ovarian cancer has already failed them long before treatment begins.
The government should now shift part of its cancer strategy towards large-scale awareness and early recognition initiatives. Community health workers, local clinics, schools, media platforms and digital campaigns should all be mobilised to educate women about the warning signs of ovarian cancer. Public awareness campaigns in Bangla, particularly in rural areas, could significantly improve early health-seeking behaviour. Awareness is not a secondary issue in cancer care; it is often the frontline of survival.
National health policy must also formally recognise ovarian cancer as a priority within women’s health and non-communicable disease strategies. Bangladesh has already demonstrated the effectiveness of mass public awareness campaigns in areas such as immunisation, maternal health, and family planning. A similar approach can be adapted for ovarian cancer awareness and early recognition. Without integrating ovarian cancer education into national health communication frameworks, thousands of women will continue to receive diagnoses too late.
The findings from the Every Woman Study LMICs offer an important lesson: women suffer not only from the disease itself, but also from delayed recognition, policy neglect, weak awareness systems, and unequal access to information. Bangladesh still has an opportunity to change this trajectory. Greater public investment in awareness, advocacy, community education, and early recognition may ultimately save more lives than treatment expansion alone.
Ovarian cancer should no longer remain invisible within Bangladesh’s public health conversation. The country’s healthcare response must move awareness from the margins to the centre of national cancer policy.
Rafe Sadnan Adel is director of World Ovarian Cancer Coalition.
