Mariam Salami, Breast Cancer Survivor, Founder of Mariam-Atswandeh Cancer Support Foundation, shared a post on LinkedIn:
“A cancer diagnosis needs more than medicine.
As a breast cancer survivor, those words are deeply personal to me.
Medicine treated my cancer, but my journey required much more than chemotherapy, surgery, radiotherapy, targeted therapy, and hormone therapy.
I needed accurate information when fear and uncertainty overwhelmed me.
I needed emotional support.
I needed family, faith, encouragement, and people who reminded me that I was more than my diagnosis.
Today, as a patient advocate working closely with people affected by cancer in Nigeria, I see this reality from another perspective.
I meet patients who are not struggling only with the disease. Many are also struggling with the cost of treatment, transportation, feeding, accommodation, emotional distress, loss of income, and the fear of what tomorrow may bring.
The new World Health Organization Global Status Report on Cancer 2026 reminds us that although there has been remarkable progress in cancer prevention, diagnosis, treatment, and survival, these advances do not yet reach everyone equally.
A people-centred approach to cancer care must see the whole person, not only the disease.
It must listen to patients.
It must include survivors and people with lived experience in conversations and decisions.
It must recognise the families and caregivers carrying the burden alongside them.
It must address the emotional, social, and financial realities that continue long after a hospital appointment ends.
Scientific progress is important, but progress must also mean that people can access timely diagnosis, quality treatment, compassionate care, and continued support, regardless of where they live or what they can afford.
As survivors and advocates, our voices matter because we understand the parts of the cancer journey that statistics may never fully capture.
Cancer care should not only add years to life. It should also protect dignity, restore hope, and improve the quality of those years.
The future of cancer care must be one we build with patients and survivors, not only for them.”
You can also read:
We Are Only Here to Help… Hear from Cancer Survivors
