A new study by the Institute of Health Economics finds that Greece's healthcare system treats cancer as a clinical episode rather than a life event, leaving women unsupported
A woman diagnosed with cancer does not stop being a partner, a professional, a daughter, a mother or a caregiver. Yet Greece’s healthcare system continues to treat cancer primarily as a medical episode rather than a life-changing experience that affects every aspect of a woman’s daily life.
That was the central message emerging from a new study by the Institute of Health Economics, Cancer in Women in Greece: Assessing Health System Performance Against Women’s Care Needs and Life Roles.
Rather than focusing solely on clinical outcomes, the study applies the World Health Organisation’s Health System Performance Assessment Framework through a gender lens, asking whether the health system truly responds to the realities women face before, during and after treatment.
“The study starts from one assumption: cancer is no longer an episode; it is a life event,” said health economist Kostas Athanasakis, presenting the findings. “Our systems are still organised and financed around episodes of care, while the consequences of cancer extend far beyond clinical outcomes. They are social, economic and psychological.”
