World Cancer Day

Cancer doesn’t take days off. Even today, on World Cancer Day, the disease strikes with as much vigor as yesterday, the same relentlessness it will bring tomorrow. And another thing—cancer doesn’t confine itself to borders. Though just five percent of global spending on cancer care reaches low-incomef and middle-income countries, the disease thrives in these defenseless populations. In fact, the poor suffer 80% of all disability-adjusted life years lost to cancer worldwide.

Still, the issue is not simply that the poorest cancer victims are dying—it’s that many could live, if only they had access to care. We have readily available treatments, but most victims cannot afford the inflated prices set for them. Opponents of subsidies and price controls lament the economic costs of increasing access. However, these arguments disregard the $900 billion cost of productivity lost to cancer each year.

Nevertheless, this burden is more than blistering fact. It is an opportunity. It shows just what there is to gain—in a fiscal sense—from increasing access to care for those in low-income countries. And indeed, some countries are taking steps to help their citizens fight cancer.

Consider India. Last December, its high court ruled that Bayer, producer of kidney and liver cancer drug Nexavar, could not maintain exclusive production rights. Now, a generic manufacturer will sell the drug for 3% of its original cost. This progress offers security for millions in India who could never afford Nexavar at its current price. If diagnosed with liver or kidney cancer, they now have a chance. And this is an example the world needs to follow.

That so many do without drugs we could easily produce is unconscionable. And it is irrational too. Because of all we lose from cancer, supporting patients worldwide will serve our own economic interests. And money is the least of the benefits that we can gain from giving people a chance when cancer strikes.

Ismail Aijazuddin

T '18