News
The rise of preventive gynaecology: What women need to know
Co-written By Dr Claire Gillvray and Tarang Majmudar, Welbeck Cambridge (2026)
Gynaecological cancers, cervical, ovarian, uterine, vaginal, and vulvar, pose a significant health risk across all age groups.
While treatment has advanced in recent years, early detection remains the single most crucial factor in improving survival, reducing the need for invasive treatments, and preserving quality of life.
Why Early Detection Matters
When gynaecological cancers are detected early, the five-year survival rate exceeds 90 per cent.
In contrast, late-stage diagnosis can reduce survival chances by more than half. Early detection truly can mean the difference between life and death.
In England, the introduction of cervical screening in 1998 and HPV vaccination in 2008 has drastically reduced the incidence and mortality associated with cervical cancer.
For endometrial cancer, postmenopausal bleeding is a red flag symptom, prompting timely medical intervention and generally resulting in early diagnosis.
Yet, ovarian and vulval cancers often go unnoticed.
Ovarian cancer’s vague symptoms such as bloating, abdominal discomfort, and appetite changes, are frequently mistaken for benign conditions.
Vulval cancer symptoms like itching or soreness are often overlooked, especially post-menopause.
To improve early detection, a threefold strategy is essential:
- Screening
- Symptom recognition
- Lifestyle modification
1. Screening
Cervical cancer is one of the few gynaecological cancers that is both preventable and detectable through routine screening.
Caused primarily by the human papillomavirus (HPV), cervical cancer rates have dropped significantly due to HPV vaccination and cervical screening programmes.
In 2023, NHS England outlined its goal to eliminate cervical cancer by 2040.
Despite high HPV vaccination coverage (approximately 80 per cent), screening uptake has declined, particularly among younger women, where participation has dropped to 70 per cent.
The upcoming introduction of self-sampling for HPV aims to address this gap and improve participation.
However, no effective population-wide screening methods currently exist for ovarian, uterine, vaginal, or vulvar cancers.
This reality reinforces the importance of self-awareness, recognising symptoms, and attending regular gynaecological check-ups.
Dr Claire Gillvray
2. Recognising Warning Symptoms
Awareness of key symptoms is vital for early diagnosis:
- Cervical cancer: abnormal vaginal bleeding, post-coital bleeding, unusual discharge
- Ovarian cancer: persistent bloating, pelvic discomfort, urinary urgency, loss of appetite, weight loss
- Uterine cancer: postmenopausal bleeding, irregular or heavy periods
- Vaginal cancer: unusual bleeding or discharge
- Vulvar cancer: itching, pain, lumps, or ulceration
Although many of these symptoms can have benign causes, persistence or change from the norm should always prompt medical review.
Historically, women’s gynaecological symptoms have often been minimised or dismissed.
This has led to diagnostic delays for conditions like endometriosis, which still takes nearly 9 years on average to diagnose.
Young women are particularly vulnerable, with symptoms too often attributed to hormonal changes or stress.
Rather than placing blame, we must push for better education, research funding, and structural support to help clinicians, especially in primary care, identify early warning signs across diverse age groups and health backgrounds.
3. Lifestyle and Risk Reduction
Healthy habits can reduce the risk of several gynaecological conditions:
- Maintain a healthy weight
- Eat a balanced, nutrient-rich diet
- Avoid tobacco and limit alcohol
- Get vaccinated for HPV and practice safe sex
- Attend regular health checks
- Manage conditions like diabetes and hypertension
- Seek genetic counselling if there’s a family history of breast, bowel, or gynaecological cancers
Prevention isn’t only about medical care, it’s also about empowering people with the knowledge and tools to take charge of their health.
The Role of Men and Partners in Gynaecological Health
Preventative gynaecology isn’t a “women-only” issue. Men and partners play an essential role in recognising early warning signs, supporting open health conversations, and advocating for equitable care.
Awareness campaigns must include all genders, so that everyone can support informed decisions, challenge stigma, and help normalise seeking help early.
The Rise of FemTech
Preventative gynaecology is being transformed by FemTech with technologies including:
- Menstrual tracking apps
- Wearable hormone monitors
- At-home diagnostics
- AI-powered symptom tools
These innovations give people more insight into their own health and more confidence when seeking care.
Yet, technology alone isn’t enough. It must be paired with systemic changes in how symptoms are recognised and responded to.
Chronic pain, abnormal bleeding, and fatigue are too often normalised, leading to prolonged suffering and delayed diagnoses.
Empowering Through Self-Advocacy
Tarang Majmudar
A central tenet of preventative gynaecology is self-advocacy. This involves:
- Know your normal—cycles, mood, energy, libido
- Use tech to track symptoms and patterns
- Push for answers when something feels “off”
- Recognise that stress, sleep, and environment all play a role in health
Empowerment also means expecting and demanding respectful, informed care. It’s about being heard, not dismissed.
Prevention in Action: Real Progress
We’re already seeing the benefits of preventative measures:
- The HPV vaccine is reducing cervical cancer rates significantly.
- Early hormone therapy during perimenopause can protect bone, brain, and heart health.
- Growing awareness of reproductive conditions is shortening the diagnostic journey for many.
When supported by data and technology, people can have more meaningful conversations with healthcare providers and make informed choices about their bodies and care.
Looking Forward
For individuals:
Use digital tools to track trends and flag changes. Treat this data as a conversation starter, not a diagnosis.
For clinicians:
Engage with new technologies. Ask proactively about menstrual, hormonal, and sexual health.
For innovators:
Design inclusive, accessible tools for all bodies, all ages, all ethnicities.
For policymakers and researchers:
Support funding for research that focuses on earlier detection, better diagnostics, and equitable access to care.
The future of gynaecological care is not just about reacting to disease, it’s about preventing it, detecting it early, and empowering everyone to take control of their health.
Preventative gynaecology is more than a trend, it’s a necessity.
With education, accessible tools, cultural change, and collaborative action, we can make early detection the norm, not the exception.
Resistance training improves hip strength, balance and flexibility during menopause and may also improve lean body mass, research suggests.
A study of 72 active women aged 46 to 57 found those who completed a 12-week supervised programme saw greater gains than those who kept to their usual exercise routines.
None of the participants were taking hormone replacement therapy.
The supervised, low-impact resistance exercise programme focused on strength at the hip and shoulder, dynamic balance and flexibility.
Participants used Pvolve equipment, including resistance bands and weights around the hips, wrists and ankles, and also lifted dumbbells of varying loads.
Women in the resistance training group showed a 19 per cent increase in hip function and lower-body strength, a 21 per cent increase in full-body flexibility and a 10 per cent increase in dynamic balance, meaning the ability to stay stable while moving.
Those in the usual activity group did not show any significant improvements.
Previous studies have assessed the decline in lower limb strength and flexibility during menopause, but this is said to be the first study to compare the effect of resistance training on muscle strength and mass before, during and after menopause.
This was done by including participants in different phases of menopause rather than following the same participants over a long timeframe.
Francis Stephens, a researcher at the University of Exeter Medical School in the UK, said: “These results are important because women appear to be more susceptible to loss of leg strength as they age, particularly after menopause, which can lead to increased risk of falls and hip fractures.
“This is the first study to demonstrate that a low-impact bodyweight and resistance band exercise training programme with a focus on the lower limbs, can increase hip strength, balance, and flexibility.
“Importantly, these improvements were the same in peri- and post-menopausal females when compared to pre-menopausal females, suggesting that changes associated with menopause do not mitigate the benefits of exercise.”
Although one of the researchers sits on Pvolve’s clinical advisory board, the researchers said the company did not sponsor the study or influence its results.
Stephens added that any progressive resistance exercise training focused on lower-body strength is likely to yield the same results.
He said: “The important point is for an individual to find a type of exercise, modality, location, time of day etc., that is enjoyable, sustainable, and improves everyday life.
“The participants in the present study reported an improvement in ‘enjoyment of exercise,’ and some are still using the programme since the study finished.”
Kylie Larson, a women’s health and fitness coach and founder of Elemental Coaching, who was not involved in the study, said the results were compelling.
She said: “This is particularly exciting for those that tend to think of menopause as ‘the end’. The study proves that if you incorporate strength training you can still make improvements to your muscle mass and strength, which will also have a positive ripple effect to your ability to manage your body composition.
“In addition, staying flexible and being able to balance are both keys to a healthy and functional second half of life.”
Participants in the study did four classes a week for 30 minutes each session, but Larson said even half that amount of strength training can go a long way, particularly if you emphasise progressive overload, which means gradually increasing muscle challenge through more weight.
Larson said: “Gradually increasing the challenge is what drives real change.
“Lifting heavier over time is what builds strength, protects your bones, and keeps your body resilient through menopause and beyond.”
France will reimburse reusable period products for women under 26 and those on low incomes, in a move aimed at tackling period poverty.
The measure is expected to help 6.7m people, almost a tenth of France’s population of 69m, from the start of the next academic year in the autumn.
Women under 26 with a state health insurance card, as well as women of all ages who receive special healthcare support because of limited income, will be able to claim reimbursement after buying the products from a pharmacy. The cost will be covered through the country’s social security system.
Parliament approved the measure as part of the country’s social security budget for 2024. However, no decree was issued to bring it into force, prompting anger among feminist groups and companies making the sustainable sanitary items.
A survey of 4,000 women in France in November found that one in ten had used alternatives to mainstream period products, such as ripped-up clothes, because of tight budgets, according to French charity Dons Solidaires.
France cut sales tax on period products from 20 per cent to 5.5 per cent in 2016. In 2020, Scotland became the first country in the world to sign into law free universal access to period products in public buildings.
Condé Nast will close its women’s health publication Self after 47 years, with unprofitable editions of Glamour and Wired also set to shut.
In a memo published on the magazine giant’s website on Thursday, the media company’s chief executive, Roger Lynch, said: “As audience behaviours shift, we have not seen a path for Self to continue in its current form as a digital publication.”
“Going forward, health and wellness content will be integrated into our other brands, including Allure and Glamour,” Lynch said, referring to Condé Nast’s other beauty and wellness titles.
Self, which moved to an online-only format in 2017, still reaches more than 20m people each month.
The publication has also earned significant recognition over the years, including a National Magazine award and a Webby’s People’s Voice award.
The closure is part of a wider set of operational changes across the company. Lynch also announced the end of Wired’s Italy edition, noting that while the brand “remains a strong global brand, the Italian edition has not kept pace with growth in our other markets”.
Condé Nast will also wind down Glamour’s publishing operations in Germany, Spain and Mexico.
Lynch said: “Taken together, Wired in Italy, Self and the affected Glamour markets represent a little over 1 per cent of our overall revenue.
“They also remain unprofitable, and continuing to operate them in their current form limits our ability to invest in the ideas and areas that will drive future growth.”
Beyond editorial changes, the company is also restructuring internally to adapt to technological shifts.
Lynch said Condé Nast would make “changes within our technology organisation, reflecting the rapid advancement of AI and its impact on our ability to innovate and build products faster”, adding: “Teams will be restructured to be more agile and to work more closely with our brands and customers, reducing barriers to execution.”
The latest moves follow a series of transformations at Condé Nast in recent years.
Glamour ended its print edition in 2018, followed by Allure moving to a digital-only format in 2022.
In 2024, music publication Pitchfork was folded into GQ, the company’s men’s style magazine.
More recently, last November, Vogue, one of Condé Nast’s key revenue drivers, announced it would absorb Teen Vogue to create a more “unified reader experience across titles”.
The media industry has been shrinking steadily over the years.
From 2010 to 2017, the industry lost an average of 7,305 jobs annually, according to data from Challenger, Gray & Christmas published in December 2025.
Since 2018, the average number of job cuts in the industry has risen to 14,298 a year.
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