A Life-Course Framework for Women’s Cancer Care: Closing Gaps in Access

Cancer care systems were not designed around the realities of women’s lives. This report from the Milken Institute Women’s Health Network maps women’s cancer experiences across four life stages—childhood and adolescence, young adulthood, the menopausal transition, and older adulthood and survivorship—to show where prevention, screening, treatment, and survivorship care break down. Drawing on published research and a workshop of more than 20 oncologists, clinicians, and patient advocates held alongside the 2026 American Society of Clinical Oncology (ASCO) annual meeting, it identifies practical opportunities for health systems, payers, and policymakers to close those gaps.

Key opportunities include:

• Expand where prevention happens. Delivering human papillomavirus (HPV) vaccination through schools, pharmacies, and community sites, alongside outreach by trusted local partners, can reach people who do not regularly see a doctor.
• Fix the handoffs. Structured transitions—from pediatric to adult care, from screening to follow-up, and from active treatment into survivorship—with clearly assigned clinician responsibility can prevent women from falling through the cracks.
• Build female-specific care into cancer care. Fertility counseling, contraception and menstrual care, and menopause and oncomenopause support belong in routine oncology practice, not as add-ons.
• Use data and technology to identify risk earlier. Connected health records, broader risk assessment tools, and automated referral pathways can flag hereditary risk, missed screenings, and unmet psychosocial needs before a visit.
• Align coverage and reimbursement with coordinated care. Paying for fertility preservation, genetic counseling, patient navigation, menopause care, transportation, and childcare makes these services sustainable.

Download the report for the full framework, stage-by-stage analysis, and more than 20 detailed opportunities for action.