Who Will Care for Future Cancer Patients?
- 22 Jun, 2026
- villafanevi
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New Lancet Oncology Commission warns that workforce shortages could become one of the greatest barriers to cancer care worldwide.
What happens when scientific advances outpace the number of people available to deliver them?
Researchers are developing new cancer treatments at a remarkable pace. Artificial intelligence is helping identify patterns in disease. Screening tools continue to improve. Scientists are learning more about how genetics, environment, and lifestyle influence cancer risk.
But there is a problem hiding in plain sight.
Who will perform the screenings? Who will explain test results? Who will help patients navigate treatment, find resources, answer questions, and stay connected to care?
A new international Commission published in The Lancet Oncology argues that one of the greatest challenges facing cancer care in the coming decades may not be a lack of medical innovation. It may be a shortage of people.
Read the Lancet Oncology Commission:
Cancer Workforce—A Global Crisis: A Lancet Oncology Commission (Shown at right: Cover of Cancer Workforce—A Global Crisis: A Lancet Oncology Commission, published in May 2026.)
Editor’s Note: TLCI Founder Ysabel Duron served as a member of the international Commission and contributed to discussions related to Latin America and the role of community health workers in expanding access to cancer prevention, care, and research.
The People Behind Cancer Care
When people think about cancer, they often think about hospitals, treatments, and technology.
Less visible are the people who make those things work.
Cancer care depends on physicians, nurses, laboratory specialists, researchers, patient navigators, community health workers, social workers, and many others. Each plays a role in helping patients move from prevention and screening through treatment and survivorship.
The Commission projects that cancer cases will continue to rise in the coming decades, driven by population growth and aging. Yet many regions already struggle to recruit and retain enough trained professionals to meet today’s needs.
The result is a troubling question: As more people need cancer care, will there be enough people available to provide it?
Why This Matters for Latino Communities
For many Latino families, barriers to cancer care often begin long before someone enters a clinic.
Language differences, transportation challenges, financial pressures, limited access to specialists, and lack of culturally relevant information can make it harder to seek care or stay connected to treatment.
When workforce shortages are added to those challenges, delays can grow. Patients may wait longer for appointments, have fewer opportunities to receive guidance, or struggle to find trusted sources of information.
These pressures are often felt most strongly in underserved communities, where health care resources are already stretched thin.
Community Health Workers Move Into the Spotlight
One of the Commission’s strongest messages is that solving the cancer workforce challenge is not simply about training more doctors.
Community health workers, known in many Latino communities as promotores, can play a critical role in helping people access care, understand health information, and navigate complex systems.
The need is urgent: the Commission notes it can take 8 to 15 years to train an oncologist, but as little as six months to train a community health worker, making CHWs one of the fastest, most practical ways to expand cancer support in underserved communities.
For decades, promotores have served as trusted messengers in Latino communities. They meet people where they are: in neighborhoods, churches, schools, community centers, and workplaces. They help translate medical information into practical guidance and connect families with resources and services.
The Commission recognizes that these community-based roles are not peripheral to cancer care. They are an essential part of the broader workforce needed to improve outcomes and reduce barriers.
A Conversation TLCI Has Been Having for Years
The findings of the Commission reinforce a lesson that many community organizations already know: better cancer outcomes depend on more than medical breakthroughs.
Trust matters.
Communication matters.
Access matters.
And the people who help families navigate the health care system matter.
TLCI has long supported the role of community health workers, patient advocates, and community-based organizations in helping Latino communities access cancer information, services, and support.
Looking Ahead
Many of the issues raised in the Commission will be explored during TLCI’s 2026 Friday Forum Series on the social determinants of health.
Upcoming discussions will examine how social, environmental, economic, and policy factors influence cancer risk and outcomes, including presentations focused on community health workers and promotores, access to care, environmental exposures, workforce development, and emerging technologies.
Because the future of cancer care is not only about the next breakthrough. It is also about whether there will be enough people to help ensure those breakthroughs reach the communities that need them most.
