Scaling healthcare access: Toward a world without fear of cancer

In the UK, lung cancer is the leading cause of cancer death, claiming more than 35,000 lives each year. Often symptomless in its early stages, it can go undetected until it’s too late. That was the case for Philip Bennett, a lifelong smoker, who had no warning signs when he received his invitation for a lung health check at age 62. 

“The invitation arrived in December 2021, and initially I just threw it to one side because I was too busy with my job,” Bennett recalls. But after a last-minute cancellation at work, he decided to attend the screening at a mobile unit close by. That simple decision changed everything.

Professor Richard Booton, MD, director of the Greater Manchester Lung Cancer Screening Programme at Manchester University NHS Foundation Trust in the UK, initiated the development of the local screening program that reached Bennett. “We knew that early detection saves lives. So in 2016, we created a pragmatic but evidence-based program to reach at-risk groups through innovation and community engagement,” he explains. The program uses mobile screening units and offers a one-stop model that provides immediate access to CT scanning so that nobody who can benefit from the program is missed. 

The results speak for themselves. Over 100,000 lung assessments have been completed in the Greater Manchester area. Today, 80 percent of cancers detected through the program are found at Stage I or II, when treatment can still be curative. In fact, since the program began, Stage IV diagnoses have dropped by 25 percent. This really drives home the value of early diagnosis.

Bennett was one of the many patients to benefit. A CT scan revealed cancer in its earliest stage, allowing for successful surgery without the need for chemotherapy. Just three months later, he was declared cancer-free. “If you get the invitation, make sure that you go to the screening. It could save your life,” he says. The screening provides the chance to treat the cancer successfully. If lung cancer isn’t found until Stage IV, the five-year survival rate is less than 20 percent [1]. Treatment is often only palliative.

Manchester’s regional success has since inspired national change. By 2029, the countrywide NHS Lung Cancer Screening Programme expects to invite over six million people across the UK — an ambitious scale-up that could transform outcomes for thousands more people. For Professor Booton, the motivation is clear: “You are changing people’s lives. And they are getting more time to do what they want to do, spend time with family. As a doctor, that’s just a brilliant outcome.”

After her diagnosis in 2023, Jane Eyre Viana de Souza cried and felt hopeless as she recalled how her father had died from cancer. But when she started her radiotherapy treatment, she received one of the most modern radiation experiences in Brazil. In de Souza’s home province of Fortaleza, Hospital Haroldo Juacaba has benefited from a national initiative that enabled it to upgrade its radiotherapy fleet, leading to improved treatment processes. 

“We needed to rethink how radiotherapy was being done,” explains Pierre. “We started hypofractionation protocols that were only possible thanks to technological innovations. With this, we reduced the number of sessions, allowing patients to stay less time in Fortaleza and helping us achieve an increase of almost 30 percent more patients treated,” he says. “When I got here, the staff calmed me down. I entered the room, and it was very calm,” de Souza recalls. “And then I cried again, but this time it was joy. Once I let go of the fear that radiation therapy would be harsh on my body, when the time came, on the contrary, I realized that the whole procedure felt surprisingly smooth and easy,” she adds. With the innovative advancements, the average number of sessions required to complete treatment has dropped from 36 to 18, significantly reducing waiting times. Urgent cases can now be treated within a week.

Today, more patients than ever can benefit from years of transformation within Brazil’s cancer care system. A decade ago, Brazil’s public cancer system was far less equipped to meet patients’ needs. Only 60 percent of those requiring radiotherapy treatment could be served. Long waiting lists, limited equipment, and the burden of long-distance travel left many patients without timely care. But things began to change in 2012 with the launch of PER SUS, a national initiative by the Ministry of Health to expand radiotherapy capacity to bridge the gap between public and private care. By the end of 2025, a total of 92 new linear accelerators will be installed across 27 states, increasing capacity for over 55,000 additional patients each year.

“Regardless of social class, everyone receives the high-quality oncological treatment they deserve,” says Pierre. Brazil is proving what’s possible: More patients are receiving timely, effective care, and are facing cancer treatment not with fear, but with hope.