As women age, they face different types of discrimination.  Of no more “use” when they pass their reproductive years, they can be socially discarded, vulnerable to poverty and exploitation because they have no means to support themselves. Widowhood exacerbates the inequities women face. Older women also face more extreme versions of the discrimination in access to healthcare than younger women, both in the West and in the developing world. Older women may not have access to HIV/AIDS treatment or cancer management.  Often, an older woman experiences the cumulative effects of discrimination throughout her lifetime—the lack of access to education, early marriage, early or difficult pregnancies, lack of access to basic healthcare.