The exponential rise in cancer costs in South Africa (SA) was illustrated in a recent Sunday Times article entitled 'The cost of cancer can be a debt sentence'. Our Minister of Health talks of a 'war' against the high costs of cancer drugs, and epidemiologists project a sharply rising incidence. Eminent international medical journals, such as The Lancet, underline the fact that cancer cost is a growing international problem that confronts even the richest countries. If richer countries in the world are battling to cover the costs of cancer, what is the prognosis for SA?