SA can no longer afford “business as usual” when it comes to cancer

South Africans are grossly underestimating the rapid rise of Cancer cases in South Africa as well as the associated financial and social toll the disease is taking.

This is the view of Campaigning for Cancer CEO, Lauren Pretorius, who spoke at a press conference hosted in Rosebank (Gauteng) this week (29 November 2023) to mark the end of Lung Cancer awareness month which runs to the end of November.

“Impacting one of every sixteen people, lung cancer is the leading cause of cancer- related deaths worldwide - being the most common cancer in men - and the second most common cancer in women,” says Pretorius.

While general levels of awareness around Cancer are increasing, the South African response needs to be far more dynamic to meet the changing healthcare ecosystem.Areas identified by Pretorius include:

Cancer and the National Health Insurance (NHI)

The current South African healthcare system is overburdened and the scale of the response to the rising number of Cancer cases requires a coordinated effort. Pretorius believes that Public-Private-Partnerships in the healthcare space will be critical.

She points to the Fika Phila initiative they are looking to expand in 2024 which aims to bring together various stakeholders including taxis, e-hailing services and youth employment initiatives to assist patients to get to and from public hospitals and support them during their most vulnerable times.

Low-friction patient navigation

Whether you are supported by private medical insurance or are utilising public hospitals or clinics, a Cancer diagnosis will have a material impact on you financially. Apart from the heavy financial toll that Cancer takes on the people diagnosed with cancer, there is a significant emotional element which further weakens the patient’s ability to respond to Treatment.

Pretorius explains: “In many cases, Cancer patients simply don’t have the energy or the legal and financial expertise to navigate the healthcare system - a key part of our advocacy work is through our Project ASK.

Project ASK aids patients and caregivers who have been denied or given limited access to treatment, benefits, medicine or healthcare. Case Managers help patients navigate their way to accessing the treatment they are entitled to, regardless of whether or not they are being treated in a State hospital, or belong to a medical scheme, at any stage of their cancer journey and they also advise patients on how to deal with workplace situations arising from their cancer diagnosis.

The cost of inaction

Research suggests that each Cancer death costs the country over R1m per person - with over 100 000 cases diagnosed annually and more than 56 000 deaths per year, the cost of inaction is real.

The rising number of Cancer cases across the country is placing a burden on the South African economy and with healthcare infrastructure already stretched to a breaking point, the country needs to reimagine its response. Emerging markets - such as South Africa - still suffer from inconsistent data collection and interpretation and this impacts the ability to respond to this healthcare crisis.

Pretorius concludes: “Cancer will cost the South African economy over R70bn in 2024 and this is just from cases that we are able to track and measure. It can no longer be business as usual and we need to come up with more sophisticated, integrated and data driven patient pathways that bring together the expertise of the private sector with the reach of the public sector.”

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For further information or to schedule press interviews, please contact:Camrynne CrossDecusatio Communications Tel: 072-092-9732 | E-mail: This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it.