Soumen Das, Head of Department of Surgical Oncology at Netaji Subhas Chandra Bose Cancer Hospital, CEO and Co-Founder at ArrowsUP LLP, and Co-Founder at Specifixon Healthcare, shared on LinkedIn:
“The Lancet Oncology Commission has delivered a profound reminder to the global cancer community — that beyond the science, a human crisis is unfolding in cancer care.
While survival is improving, millions of people across the world continue to face an experience marked by delay, fragmentation, emotional abandonment, financial toxicity, and deep inequity. The report echoes what we have been witnessing in LMICs for years:
- Technological progress has rapidly advanced, but the human experience has not kept pace.
- Disparities and human suffering remain structurally produced and preventable.
The Commission highlights that cancer care systems often prioritise precision, procedures, and profit over presence, compassion, and dignity. It calls for re-centring humanity — communication, psychological support, palliative care, and relational care — as core outcomes, not optional extras.
These findings deeply resonate with our work from India.
At the Institute of Breast Disease Kolkata and the Asian Health Academy, we have been consistently documenting the dual crisis:
- Disparities in access
- Disparities in diagnosis pathways
- Disparities in financial burden
- Disparities in human experience of care
Our ongoing work — ‘One World, One Health: Let the Disparities Disappear’ — is built on this very principle.
We believe that early detection, compassionate communication, integrated palliative care, navigation support, and equitable access are not luxuries, but human rights.
The Lancet Commission reinforces that the human crisis and the disparities crisis are inseparable. To fix one, we must address both.
As we advance our efforts through education, research, community engagement and global collaboration, we stand committed to a future where:
- No one is left behind because of where they live.
- No patient feels unheard or unsupported.
- No family is pushed into poverty for seeking care.
- And every person receives dignified, human-centred cancer care.
A world free of disparities is possible — if we choose to value humanity as much as technology.
Let the disparities disappear.
Let cancer care become truly human.”
You can the full report on The Lancet Oncology.
More from Soumen Das on OncoDaily.