Why Life After Cancer Deserves More Attention

While cancer treatment remains critical, experts say survivorship, follow-up care and access to ongoing support are just as important in improving outcomes for South Africans living beyond a cancer diagnosis.

Cancer remains the leading cause of death globally and in South Africa. Yet for many survivors, completing treatment is not the end of the journey, but the beginning of a new chapter that requires ongoing care and support.

While global cancer survival rates continue to improve, local outcomes remain a concern. South Africa’s cancer survival rates are significantly lower than those of many high-income countries, particularly for cancers that are highly treatable when detected early. As the world marks Cancer Survivors Day on 4 June, the focus is shifting beyond treatment alone to survivorship, continuity of care and the systemic challenges that shape life after a cancer diagnosis.

According to Dr Renata Maharaj, Head of Medical Affairs at Novartis South Africa, improving cancer outcomes requires a patient-centred approach that considers not only treatment, but the realities patients face once treatment has ended.

“The reality is that to improve cancer outcomes, healthcare must be people-centred and sensitive to patients’ perceptions, lived realities and information needs,” she says. Research shows that early-stage cancer detection can significantly improve patient outcomes. Yet many South Africans continue to be diagnosed at advanced stages of the disease, where survival rates decline dramatically.

Barriers such as delayed diagnosis, limited access to oncology specialists and fragmented healthcare systems continue to affect patient outcomes across the country.

“From a clinical perspective, the difference between early and late diagnosis is often the difference between life and death,” says Dr Maharaj. “We know that when patients are diagnosed early and have consistent access to treatment and follow-up care, outcomes improve significantly. But too many patients in South Africa enter the system late, when treatment options are more limited and less effective.”

For many cancer survivors, completing treatment is viewed as the finish line. However, experts caution that the journey often continues long after treatment ends.

Even after successful treatment, the risk does not disappear. Cancer recurrence remains a significant concern for survivors, requiring ongoing monitoring and follow-up care. “Patients often believe that once treatment ends, the cancer journey is over, but clinically, that’s not the case,” says Dr Maharaj.

“The risk of recurrence is real, and without regular check-ups, surveillance, and in some cases ongoing therapy, cancer can return undetected until it is more advanced and harder to treat. ”She explains that cancer’s complexity means it can sometimes evade treatment and reappear later.

“Cancer is like a moving target, making it hard for any treatment to capture and kill all cancerous cells,” explains Dr Maharaj. “For example, surgery to remove a cancerous tumour may miss some cells because they were too small to detect. Cancer constantly evolves as cells mutate. In some cases, cancer treatment may not work against all cancer cells. Those cells can keep on growing despite treatment until a healthcare provider detects them during follow-up examinations.”

Beyond diagnosis and treatment, continuity of care remains one of the most important and often overlooked aspects of survivorship.

Cancer is increasingly being managed as a chronic condition, requiring long-term monitoring, management of side effects, sustained access to medication and ongoing support services. Studies have consistently shown that patients who receive uninterrupted, guideline-consistent care have better survival outcomes. However, challenges in the healthcare system, such as long waiting times, resource constraints, and gaps in access to care, continue to affect many South African patients.

For survivors, the period after treatment can be marked by uncertainty, anxiety and concerns about recurrence, making access to ongoing care and support critical.

As awareness around cancer continues to grow, experts believe there is a need to broaden the conversation beyond diagnosis and treatment to include survivorship and quality of life. This means ensuring that patients not only survive cancer but are supported throughout their recovery journey, with access to information, follow-up care and the services they need to live healthy and productive lives after treatment.

For many South Africans, life after cancer is not the end of the story. It is the beginning of a new chapter that requires continued care, support and attention.

Improving cancer outcomes will depend not only on earlier diagnosis and effective treatment, but also on building healthcare systems that recognise survivorship as an essential part of cancer care.