By Shaun Wooller, Health Editor for the Daily Mail
5:57 p.m. June 5, 2024, updated 6:43 p.m. June 5, 2024
An ovarian cancer charity has been accused of putting women at risk and insulting victims by claiming anyone can get the disease “regardless of gender”.
Ovarian Cancer Action sparked fury with its tweet, which featured the LGBT+ rainbow flag and said: “Let’s raise awareness by asking: can men get ovarian cancer?
He adds: “Anyone with ovaries, regardless of gender identity, may be at risk of ovarian cancer. »
TV presenter Piers Morgan was among the X users to respond to the post saying: “What the hell are you talking about?
“Only WOMEN have ovaries, and if you think men have them too, you shouldn’t be anywhere near public health. »
Fiona McAnena, campaigns director at human rights charity Sex Matters, said: “This controversial campaign by Ovarian Cancer Action in the name of celebrating Pride Month is an insult to women who suffered from the disease, as well as their families.
“Men can’t get ovarian cancer. To suggest otherwise is misleading and dangerous, particularly when it comes to the health of women with learning disabilities or those who speak English as a second language.
“Public health charities should use clear, gender-based language to communicate.
“The language of gender identity ideology obscures the reality that gender matters in health care.”
The Ovarian Cancer Action website describes the ovaries as “a part of the female reproductive system” and its homepage states: “Women don’t just deserve better, they deserve the best.” »
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It says ovarian cancer kills around 4,100 women a year in the UK and the disease develops when abnormal cells grow in and around the ovaries and fallopian tubes.
The disease is often diagnosed late because symptoms are common and often confused with irritable bowel syndrome.
They include bloating, stomach pain, difficulty eating, and the need to urinate more frequently.
In 2022, MailOnline revealed that the NHS had quietly removed the word “women” from ovarian and uterine cancer advice pages.
It caused outrage by removing the word “women” from its main ovarian cancer page and replacing it with a sentence that read: “Anyone with ovaries can get ovarian cancer, but it mainly affects people over 50 years old. »
Health chiefs later reversed the change after being reprimanded by a succession of health secretaries who demanded the NHS return to gender-based language.
Announcing changes to the NHS Constitution in April this year, Victoria Atkins said the term “woman” should not be “eradicated from our language in order to be inclusive and welcoming”.
She said the update will “ensure biological sex is respected” and that the language is “clear” so that pregnant women are not referred to as “service users” to boost inclusiveness.
Kate Barker, chief executive of the LGB Alliance, said: “Activists who seek to replace the biological reality of sex with a fantasy world of magical genders are causing incalculable harm.
“Whether it’s telling children that there are 100 or more genders, telling LGB people that being gay or lesbian is about same-sex sexual attraction rather than sex, or to erase women from health messages because the word “woman” is considered offensive to people of the same sex. gender extremists, it’s sexist and regressive.
“Today’s rainbow warriors are displaying their allegiance to a belief that has nothing to do with the values of what was once called “Gay Pride.”
Ovarian Cancer Action did not respond to numerous requests for comment from the Daily Mail.