IN CONVERSATION WITH DR RENATA MAHARAJ- HEADOF MEDICAL AFFAIRS AT NOVARTIS(SOUTH AFRICA)
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As South Africa marks Women’s Month, a period that commemorates the historic 1956 Women’s March and its demand for dignity, equality and basic rights, another question continues to confront the country: how equal is access to life-saving healthcare?
For thousands of South African women diagnosed with breast cancer, the answer can depend heavily on where they live, their socioeconomic circumstances, how quickly they can access healthcare and whether they are able to receive a diagnosis and treatment before the disease advances.
Breast cancer remains the most common cancer affecting women in South Africa. The latest figures available from the National Cancer Registry, for 2024, put the lifetime risk for South African women at approximately one in 28. International cancer estimates also show that breast cancer was the leading cancer diagnosed among South African women in 2022, with an estimated 14 712 new cases.
Yet the burden of breast cancer is not experienced equally.
South Africa's healthcare system remains deeply divided between a relatively well-resourced private sector and a public system that serves the overwhelming majority of the population. Recent research describes roughly 15% of South Africans as having private medical insurance, while approximately 85% depend on the public healthcare system.
This divide matters because breast cancer outcomes are strongly influenced by how early the disease is diagnosed and how quickly patients can move through the diagnostic and treatment pathway.
For thousands of South African women diagnosed with breast cancer, the answer can depend heavily on where they live, their socioeconomic circumstances, how quickly they can access healthcare and whether they are able to receive a diagnosis and treatment before the disease advances.
Breast cancer remains the most common cancer affecting women in South Africa. The latest figures available from the National Cancer Registry, for 2024, put the lifetime risk for South African women at approximately one in 28. International cancer estimates also show that breast cancer was the leading cancer diagnosed among South African women in 2022, with an estimated 14 712 new cases.
Yet the burden of breast cancer is not experienced equally.
South Africa's healthcare system remains deeply divided between a relatively well-resourced private sector and a public system that serves the overwhelming majority of the population. Recent research describes roughly 15% of South Africans as having private medical insurance, while approximately 85% depend on the public healthcare system.
This divide matters because breast cancer outcomes are strongly influenced by how early the disease is diagnosed and how quickly patients can move through the diagnostic and treatment pathway.
