Sajid Javid, the Health Secretary, has chastised the NHS for making an ovarian cancer homepage gender-neutral, with no use of the word “women.”
The minister, 52, stated that he disagrees with the health service’s omission of the phrase from its online advice.
‘Common sense and the appropriate language,’ he said Sky News, should be used to ‘provide patients the greatest possible patient care.’
The word ‘women’ does not exist in the NHS.uk disease summary.
‘Ovarian cancer affects the two small organs (ovaries) that store the eggs needed to form kids,’ it says instead.
‘Ovarian cancer can afflict anyone with ovaries, but it primarily affects people over 50.’
On the third page of the ovarian cancer part of the website, the word ‘women’ appears for the first time.
‘Ovarian cancer can affect anyone who has ovaries. Women, trans males, non-binary persons, and intersex people with ovaries are all included,’ it says.
‘Well, look, I haven’t seen that particular report, but I have heard of situations like that, and I don’t believe it’s right,’ Mr Javid said when asked about allegations that the NHS has removed the phrase from advice pages on its website.
‘You won’t be surprised to learn that, as Health Secretary, I believe that your sex matters, that your biological sex is vitally important in ensuring that you receive the best treatment possible.’
‘I am looking into this, and you’ll know, look, the NHS, there are many different trusts, and I want to listen to why someone could have taken a different approach – I don’t want to simply presume,’ Mr Javid said when asked if he will get the wording changed back.
‘I understand there is some sensitivity around this phrase, but we need to utilize common sense and the appropriate language to provide the best possible patient care,’ he added.
Official NHS information about ovarian, womb, and cervix cancers had surreptitiously removed the word “woman” from its webpages, according to MailOnline last month.
Three sections detailing tumors only present in biological women lacked the word on their home pages.
It comes amid persistent worries about trans-inclusive language in NHS guidance, with services currently in the midst of a ‘woke’ storm over de-gendering terminology surrounding women and pregnancy by removing terms such as breastfeeding.
Even though it is scientifically impossible, some student midwives have been taught how to assist biological men in giving birth.
‘Ovarian cancer, or cancer of the ovaries, is one of the most frequent types of cancer in women,’ according to the original edition of the ovarian NHS cancer website.
‘Ovarian cancer mostly affects women who have gone through the menopause (typically over the age of 50), but it can sometimes affect younger women,’ it says.
However, both lines were removed in a January update that was only discovered this week by campaigners.
‘Anyone with ovaries can have ovarian cancer, but it typically affects individuals over 50,’ a new line was added instead.
Experts also warned that by overcomplicating health messaging, the adjustment could end up being detrimental for women.
The NHS, on the other hand, has justified the change, claiming that it aims to make the pages “as useful as possible to everyone who needs them.”
Each year, approximately 7,500 new instances of ovarian cancer are diagnosed in the United Kingdom, with approximately 4,200 deaths.
‘Cancer of the womb (uterine or endometrial cancer) is a common cancer that affects the female reproductive system,’ according 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.’
‘Women who have gone through the menopause are more likely to get it.’
However, in October of last year, the page was altered to remove these sentences, and there was no further reference of women on the main page.
‘Cervical cancer occurs in a woman’s cervix,’ according to the earlier edition of the NHS cervical cancer page (the entrance to the womb from the vagina). It is more common in sexually active women between the ages of 30 and 45.’
While the revised edition includes a depiction of the vagina, womb, and cervix, there is no mention of women or women.
In the UK, approximately 9,700 instances of womb cancer are diagnosed each year, with approximately 2,400 deaths. In addition, there are approximately 3,200 new cases of cervical cancer, with approximately 850 deaths.
Professor Jenny Gamble, a Coventry University midwifery expert, told MailOnline that the shift in wording puts women at danger of losing out on important health information.
‘It’s useless to avoid using the phrases woman and women,’ she remarked.
‘It is a well-established communication guideline that an individual’s sex should be made obvious when it is relevant and not when it is not.’
‘This prevents sex-related needs and issues from being disregarded.’
Professor Gamble, who co-authored a paper on the use of sex-specific language in healthcare with many other experts, stressed the necessity of ensuring health information reaches the proper audience.
‘In health communication, the target audience should be able to quickly decide whether the material is relevant to them,’ she said.
‘Using the terms women and woman in a sexist meaning is relevant in respect to ovarian cancer because ovarian cancer mainly affects women.’
She did add, though, that compassionate, courteous communication targeted to a patient should be used on an individual basis.
NHS Digital is in charge of the NHS website, and a representative stated that women were later featured in other sections of the ovarian cancer page.
They also stated that the pages are updated on a regular basis in line with best evidence and to be as relevant as possible to all people.
‘We have updated the pages as part of our routine review of web pages to keep them in line with the best clinical evidence, and make them as helpful as possible to everyone who needs them,’ they said.
MailOnline also asked Health Secretary Sajid Javid who this week posted on Twitter that ‘Biological sex matters — ask any doctor or nurse’ for his opinion on the changes but he did not respond.
The change to the NHS webpages is the latest in an ongoing battle about the use of gendered terms in the health service.
Earlier this year it was revealed that hospitals are asking men if they are pregnant before they have scans or cancer treatment.
In May MailOnline revealed how NHS hospitals have spent more than £800,000 on gender-neutral toilets in the past four years.
It also comes after this website revealed last month that midwifery students at Edinburgh Napier University were being taught biological men could get pregnant and trans men could give birth even if they have a penis.
In a coursebook that has since been revised, trainee midwives were given detailed instructions on how to treat a male-to-female trans person during childbirth