DAR ES SALAAM, Feb. 9 -- CANCER rarely announces its arrival. It creeps in quietly, often without pain or warning, until it is too late to turn back.

Health experts are now urging Tanzanians to break the silence surrounding the disease by embracing regular health check-ups as a lifesaving habit, one that could mean the difference between early treatment and a late, devastating diagnosis.

Across the country, too many people are walking into hospitals when cancer has already tightened its grip, leaving doctors with limited options and families with fading hope. Yet medical experts insist that this does not have to be the story.

Early screening, they say, remains one of the most powerful weapons in the fight against cancer capable of prev...