Nigeria / Breast Cancer

80% of breast cancer
in Nigeria is found
too late.

By the time most Nigerian women are diagnosed with breast cancer, it has already reached stage III or IV. Treatment becomes harder, more expensive, and far less likely to work. Stage One Initiative exists to close that gap.

Get involved → See the crisis ↓

Stage
One

Three-year survival in Nigeria

0% the lowest of six African countries studied, driven by late-stage diagnosis

Age-standardized mortality, Nigeria vs. the US ~2×

5-year survival, localized stage (US) 99%

Sources: GLOBOCAN 2022 / ecancer 2024 meta-analysis / SEER 2016-2022

The Problem

The cancer is the same.
The outcome is not.

Nigeria actually has a lower breast cancer incidence rate than the US or Western Europe. But the mortality rate is among the highest in the world. The difference comes down to when it gets caught.

of cases show up at stage III or IV, when treatment options are limited and outcomes are far worse

~2×

the age-standardized breast cancer mortality rate in Nigeria compared to the United States, despite lower incidence

five-year survival rate for localized breast cancer in the US, where routine screening catches it before it spreads

"The disease does not decide the outcome. The timing of its discovery does."

Why Early Detection

Stage one is survivable.
Stage four often is not.

In the US, where screening catches breast cancer early, the five-year survival rate for localized cases is 99%. In Nigeria, where most women show up at stage III or IV, the picture is completely different. A multinational study found Nigeria had the lowest three-year survival rate out of six African countries: 36%.

The problem usually isn't a lack of treatment. It's time. Women wait months or even years after noticing a symptom before seeing a doctor, whether that's because they don't know the warning signs, can't afford a visit, or face stigma around the disease.

You don't need to build a hospital to address that. You need to get the right information to the right people and make sure they can actually act on it. That's what we're here to do.

Nigeria, three-year breast cancer survival36%

Lowest of six African countries studied (McCormack et al.)

US, diagnosed while still localized64%

Before the cancer has spread, where survival is highest (SEER 2016-2022)

5-year survival, localized stage (US)99%

The outcome early detection makes possible (SEER)

Our Approach

Three pillars, one mission.

We focus on every part of the problem, from the moment a woman first notices something wrong to the day she actually gets seen by a doctor.

Community Education

Awareness materials on breast cancer warning signs, designed for Nigerian communities and delivered through local schools and community health workers. We track whether people actually learned something, not just whether we showed up. Learn about breast cancer →

Detection and Navigation

A plain-language tool that helps women figure out if their symptoms need medical attention and shows them where the nearest free or affordable screening is. It gives information, not diagnoses.

Screening Access

Partnering with existing clinics to help women who can't afford a screening actually get one. The goal is to turn awareness into an appointment, and an appointment into a result.

Our Story

"In most of the world, breast cancer caught early is not a death sentence. The work is making that true in the places where it still is."

I started Stage One Initiative after learning a fact I couldn't stop thinking about: women in Nigeria are dying from a disease that, caught at an earlier stage, the vast majority survive. The gap isn't in what medicine can do. It's in who gets reached in time.

This is personal for me. My grandmother was diagnosed with breast cancer late. That experience made the statistics feel real in a way they hadn't before. We're starting in Nigeria because the need is urgent, the data is clear, and doing one country well matters more than spreading thin across five.

Yuvan Veeragoni

Founder, Stage One Initiative

The gap we work to close

~2×

higher age-standardized breast cancer mortality in Nigeria than the US (26.8 vs. ~12 per 100,000)

99%

five-year survival for localized breast cancer in the US, where screening catches it early

2026

the year we started, building from scratch with a focus on doing one country right

One screening can change
everything.

We're looking for volunteers, partners on the ground in Nigeria, and anyone who wants to help build this. We're early and we're serious. Reach out.

Our sources

[1] Agodirin O. et al. "Nigeria's 6-year (2018-2023) stage distribution of breast cancer at diagnosis: a systematic review and meta-analysis." ecancer, 2024. 80% late-stage figure (82%, CI 79-85 in sensitivity analysis).
[2] Bray F. et al. "Global cancer statistics 2022: GLOBOCAN estimates of incidence and mortality worldwide for 36 cancers in 185 countries." IARC / WHO, 2024. Nigeria ASMR 26.83 per 100,000.
[3] Acheampong T. et al. "Global burden and projections of breast cancer incidence and mortality to 2050." Frontiers in Public Health, 2025. Nigeria highest mortality in Africa; Northern America ASMR 12.32.
[4] McCormack V. et al. Sub-Saharan African multinational study on breast cancer survival. Three-year survival rate of 36% in Nigeria (lowest of six countries). Cited in Asian Pacific J Cancer Care, 2023.
[5] SEER Cancer Stat Facts: Female Breast Cancer. National Cancer Institute, 2016-2022. 64% diagnosed localized; 99% five-year relative survival for localized stage.

80% of breast cancerin Nigeria is foundtoo late.

The cancer is the same.The outcome is not.

Stage one is survivable.Stage four often is not.