Health care that prioritises the individual over the disease is not a new concept. It’s widely understood to be an important and effective way to improve health outcomes and the experience of people living with cancer.
Yet this proven approach is too seldom put into effective practice due to several barriers, including a lack of political will, financial pressure, resource constraints, insufficient training and education, resistance to change, and systemic inequity.
We must conquer these barriers to embrace a people-centred revolution in cancer care. There is no one way to do this: just like every person’s experience with cancer is unique, so are countries and health systems. Nevertheless, there are some recommendations that can effect meaningful and lasting change everywhere.
Support a cancer care model that allows decision-making to be shared between individuals, families, and providers, foster a culture of care and communication, and acknowledge that a person’s lived experience makes them experts on their own needs. Listen to communities’ voices and take those perspectives into account when funding and providing cancer care.
Unlock this model’s proven benefits by fully integrating it into national health policies. Provide adequate and sustainable financing for people-centred cancer care to flourish, fund proper recruitment, and demonstrate the leadership, vision, and willingness to innovate that will be required to move forward together.
Provide high-quality, evidence-based education and training to prepare the health workforce for effectively putting collaborative and holistic cancer care models into practice. Actively listen to and collaborate with the health workforce to shift mindsets and obtain buy-in, while ensuring that practitioners are given the resources, time, and working conditions needed to hear people’s unique narratives and collaborate with families and broader communities.
It’s common for providers to think they’re placing the individual at the centre of their care when they are not, and practitioners have been found to fall back on more familiar routines and processes when under pressure. Even if a health system has inclusive and collaborative models of care in place, take steps to monitor and evaluate their implementation and actual impact, update as needed, and ensure that the environment is conducive to meaningful engagement of people living with cancer.
Without equitable access, care that respects an individual’s needs and values is not possible. Acknowledging the systemic barriers to high-quality care and addressing the deep-seated inequities in health systems are essential steps toward providing compassionate and collaborative cancer care. Health equity must continue to be made a priority in national health plans.
These recommendations will evolve as our United by Unique campaign develops. Sharing your one-of-a-kind story will play a big role in shaping our final call to action to governments, organisations, and institutions — sharpening and strengthening it until it’s impossible to ignore.
The new World Cancer Day theme 2025-2027 "United by Unique" places patients and people at the centre of care and their stories at the heart of the conversation.
An urgent call for people-centred cancer care.
Treat the person, not just the disease.
Definitions of terms used in the context of World Cancer Day.
Share your personal cancer story to help inspire and support others.
Get involved any way you can. Because together, we can create change.
