Two provinces have no radiation oncologists at all – the Western Cape has 16

Public-sector radiation oncologists per province, South Africa · Sascro Annual Census, 2018

radiation oncologists in Limpopo and Mpumalanga combined — serving nearly 10 million people

~80%

of South Africa's oncologists serve the 17% of the population with private medical cover

93%

of private medical oncologists practice in Gauteng alone

Northern Cape: nominally retains a specialist but has no radiotherapy machines — radiation treatment is functionally unavailable.

The Western Cape alone held more than two-fifths of the country's 38 public-sector radiation oncologists in 2018, leaving patients in the most under-served provinces without any meaningful path to specialist cancer care. Even in Gauteng — the national referral hub absorbing patients from four other provinces — the public oncology workforce shrank by almost a tenth between 2016 and 2018.