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High medical expenses lead up to 90% of patients in certain settings to abandon treatment entirely.
Abigail Simon-Hart, a breast cancer survivor and patient advocate from Nigeria, witnessed these severe financial choices firsthand.
"I’ve seen parents choose between paying for treatment and keeping a child in school, and children forced to abandon their education because every single available resource was spent on cancer care," said Simon-Hart.
Simon-Hart noted that social consequences also severely impact health outcomes, as fear of abandonment can alter a patient's medical choices.
Despite these challenges, the report notes positive trends, such as a decline in tobacco usage, a viable path toward eliminating cervical cancer, and the implementation of national cancer action plans in most countries.
Dr Isabelle Soerjomataram, deputy head of the International Agency for Research on Cancer’s surveillance unit, emphasized that many cases remain preventable.
"Four in 10 new cancer cases are linked to risk factors which we already know how to address.
This includes tobacco use, infections, alcohol use and excess body weight," said Dr Soerjomataram.
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WHO experts called on governments to fund comprehensive cancer services and urged the global community to value care as highly as cure.
