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Shaban Juma: The Economic Burden of Late Cancer Diagnosis: Why Early Detection Matters

Shaban Juma/LinkedIn

Jul 31, 2025, 19:33

Shaban Juma: The Economic Burden of Late Cancer Diagnosis: Why Early Detection Matters

Shaban Juma, Founder and Executive Director at Cancer Fight Tanzania, shared on LinkedIn:

“The Economic Burden of Late Cancer Diagnosis: Why Early Detection Matters

A cancer diagnosis is more than a health crisis, it’s a financial one too. The economic impact of cancer can be overwhelming, especially when diagnosed at a late stage.

Late diagnosis often leads to more intensive and prolonged treatments, frequent hospital visits, and higher out-of-pocket medical costs, including consultations, medications, and specialized care. But that’s just the beginning.

There are also significant non-medical costs: travel expenses for treatment, hiring help at home, or arranging child care. These hidden costs accumulate quickly and are often underestimated by families.

Perhaps most financially damaging is the loss of income. Patients may need to take extended time off work or stop working entirely. Caregivers, too, often reduce hours or leave their jobs to provide support. This loss of productivity not only affects individual households but has broader economic implications on communities and the healthcare system as a whole.

The good news?
Early detection can drastically reduce these costs.

When cancer is caught early, treatment tends to be less aggressive, recovery is faster, and patients are more likely to stay employed. Early diagnosis helps minimize both direct and indirect costs, relieving the economic pressure on patients, families, and society.

Investing in screening programs, public education, and equitable access to healthcare services is not just a medical priority, it’s an economic one.

Let’s push for earlier detection, not just for better health outcomes, but to ease the financial toll cancer takes on people’s lives. Because the cost of waiting is simply too high.”

The Economic Burden