Richer punters win in SA’s cancer treatment lottery

Abstract

Cancer patients with deeper pockets live longer in South Africa, survivors, social workers and staffers from among 35 non-governmental support organisations told a unique ‘Voice of Cancer’ Forum in Cape Town last month.
The screening and treatment access gulf between the public and private sector was dramatically illustrated in story after story told by survivors who had journeyed the vastly differing routes – with outcomes speaking for themselves. Increasingly life-threatening and even fatal waiting times, medical aid funds drying up and a lack of compassion or empathy by public sector staff overwhelmed by patient numbers were themes among cancer survivors whose courageous stories gave a human face to cold but alarming statistics.