A cancer diagnosis changes far more than someone’s health. For many women, it reshapes their sense of self, their relationships, and their future. Even when treatment goes well, the emotional toll can be deeply personal.
Research shows that women with cancer are more likely to experience suicidal thoughts or feelings than women in the general population.
Overall, suicide risk after a cancer diagnosis is around 20% higher, but for some women the risk rises even more sharply. Gynaecological cancers, including ovarian and cervical cancer, carry some of the highest risks.
In certain studies, almost one in five women say they have experienced suicidal thoughts. Women with ovarian cancer have higher rates of accidental deaths, which can sometimes reflect hidden distress or coping in ways that put them at risk.
Younger women with cervical cancer, those diagnosed early, and those who didn’t receive chemotherapy sometimes show higher suicide risk. It’s a gentle reminder that hopelessness doesn’t only appear when the illness is advanced, it can come from feeling unheard, overwhelmed, or left to manage too much alone.
Fertility, sexual wellbeing, intimacy, identity, these are profound parts of a woman’s life, and cancer can unsettle them all at once. Treatments like hysterectomy, mastectomy, or early menopause can change how a woman sees her body. Even when doctors are confident in her chances, she may still feel unrecognisable to herself.
The numbers don’t always capture the everyday realities. Some women are raising children. Some are working in jobs with no sick pay or little financial support. Some don’t access counselling or feel guilty taking time for themselves. Many young women talk about feeling left behind as friends move on with studies, relationships, or careers. Older women, meanwhile, often hide distress under a belief that they ‘don’t want to worry family’ or that they ‘don’t want to be a burden’.
Stigma and inequality can make these struggles even harder. Women from minority or migrant backgrounds often face extra barriers to care, communication, and person-centred care.
But there is evidence for what helps:
- Emotional support offered early can reduce suicide risk by half in some cancers.
- Palliative care isn’t just for end of life; it can relieve distress from the very start.
- Fertility counselling can protect women from grief they didn’t expect to face.
- Peer-support groups remind women that their fears and feelings are not unusual and not shameful.
- Every woman facing cancer deserves care that acknowledges all of her; her body, her emotions, her relationships, and her hopes for the future. Emotional pain is real pain. It deserves the same urgency, respect, and understanding as any physical symptom.
- Talking openly about suicide is not frightening or inappropriate. It is an act of compassion. If you’re experiencing suicidal thoughts or are worried for someone else, please contact Samaritans on 116 123.
This commentary is part of Tenovus Cancer Care’s series exploring the links between cancer and suicide. Taken together with our work on men’s experiences and overall risk, it reinforces a simple truth: survival isn’t only about treatment, it’s about connection, dignity, and making sure every person feels they have a reason to stay.
