Who We Are

The mission of the International Gynecologic Cancer Society is to enhance the care of those affected by gynecologic cancers worldwide through education and training and public awareness.

We achieve our mission through strategic collaborations with regional and international organizations, hosting and supporting scientific meetings, promoting research and publications, outreach, and other activities that:

• Raise public awareness of the importance of early recognition and treatment of gynecologic cancers
• Connect professionals interested in gynecologic cancers around the world
• Support research to achieve optimal care of women with gynecologic malignancies
• Provide mentorship, education and training worldwide

Global Health Equity: A Social Justice and Human Rights Imperative

IGCS Supports All Who Espouse Social and Health Equity Around the Globe 

As a core principle, the concept of global health equity—the absence of systematic disparities in health to allow the opportunity for every person to attain her (or his) full health potential—is embedded in the mission of the International Gynecologic Cancer Society (IGCS) and is reflected in the breadth of our membership and the design and implementation of our programs.

With over 3,100 members from low-, middle-, and high-income countries around the globe, IGCS has purposefully developed an inclusive membership framework that encourages interaction and growth across diverse social, political, and health care systems. Through this framework, IGCS connects our members with specific needs to those with corresponding resources and programs; forms partnerships; educates, trains, and mentors clinicians, survivors-patients, and caregivers; and otherwise enhances benefits to women not only in optimal but also in the most challenging circumstances and environments.

Since our establishment in 1987 as a forum for the worldwide exchange of scientific information, IGCS has grown as a model for global health equity, and consistent with that history and our current operation, IGCS supports individuals and organizations meaningfully engaged, at whatever level, in the journey toward social and health equity worldwide.

As we lead the global fight against gynecologic cancers, we do so with the clear understanding that prompting, promoting, and inspiring maximum achievable health outcomes for every girl and woman (and thus every community)—wherever and under whatever circumstance she might live—are fundamental to the social justice and human rights imperative of global health equity, irrespective of

• national origin or political system
• location of residence/citizenship
• race or ethnicity
• religion
• sexual orientation and/or gender identity
• local, national, or regional leadership
• sociodemographic factors
• geopolitics
• any other intervening factor

In keeping with this understanding and by focusing our work and service where they can have the greatest impact on health and well-being, IGCS supports the empowerment of girls and women—and the health professionals who serve them—so they can attain the best health and life outcomes specific to but not limited to gynecologic cancers.

As an act of social responsibility, we continually review the health equity-explicit initiatives within our portfolio and identify the need for new initiatives where none exist. After all, our mission “to enhance the care of women with gynecologic cancer worldwide through education and training and public awareness” and our demonstrated commitment to global health equity explicitly require as much.