Mustafa Eid lies on a hospital bed in the Haematology and Oncology Centre in Idlib, northwest Syria, receiving his seventh dose of an advanced cancer treatment. He had received his first six doses in Turkey, but after the massive earthquakes that hit the country, he was unable to continue his treatment there. The cost of this dose was $350, and he is worried about how he will pay for the rest of his treatment.
The Centre is the only one in Idlib providing free treatment for cancer patients, but it is overworked and struggling to treat them due to an acute shortage of chemotherapy drugs and lack of radiotherapy facilities. After the earthquake, more than 50 patients returned from Turkey and received doses in the Centre.
Hasna al-Obeid, 52 years old, from Sheikh Bahr town in rural Idlib, had started her breast cancer treatment in Antakya, Turkey, but had to return to Syria when the hospital she was being treated at was destroyed. She is afraid that her treatment will be stopped before she completes it due to lack of money.
The Medical Coordination Office at Bab al-Hawa crossing is working to obtain approval from the Turkish side, which would allow patients to receive free treatment in Turkish hospitals. During the past year, approximately 1,264 patients were transferred to receive treatment in Turkish hospitals, while the number of cancer patients last January reached 149. Sources in the Turkish interior ministry said that transfers were being allowed for emergency cases, but they have yet to announce the date for reopening the borders for all patients to receive treatment in Turkish hospitals.
Mustafa Eid is desperately hoping for a solution as he lies on his hospital bed in Idlib’s Haematology and Oncology Centre, receiving his seventh dose of an advanced cancer treatment. He had received his first six doses in Turkey, but after the devastating earthquakes that hit the country, he was unable to continue his treatment there. This dose cost him $350, and he is worried about how he will pay for the rest of his treatment.
The Centre is the only one in Idlib providing free treatment for cancer patients, but it is overburdened and struggling to treat them due to an acute shortage of chemotherapy drugs and lack of radiotherapy facilities. After the earthquake, more than 50 patients returned from Turkey and received doses in the Centre.
Hasna al-Obeid, 52 years old, from Sheikh Bahr town in rural Idlib, had started her breast cancer treatment in Antakya, Turkey, but had to return to Syria when the hospital she was being treated at was destroyed. She is afraid that her treatment will be stopped before she completes it due to lack of money.
The Medical Coordination Office at Bab al-Hawa crossing is attempting to obtain approval from the Turkish side, which would allow patients to receive free treatment in Turkish hospitals. During the past year, approximately 1,264 patients were transferred to receive treatment in Turkish hospitals, while the number of cancer patients last January reached 149. Sources in the Turkish interior ministry said that transfers were being allowed for emergency cases, but they have yet to announce the date for reopening the borders for all patients to receive treatment in Turkish hospitals.
This has left many cancer patients in Idlib with nowhere else to turn. The burden on the Centre has increased significantly since Turkish authorities closed their borders after the earthquake, and it is struggling to treat them with an acute shortage of chemotherapy drugs and lack of radiotherapy facilities. For some drugs that it does not have, the Centre has to ask patients to procure them externally so they can administer them. The cost of these drugs is often exorbitant and beyond what many patients can afford.
The delay in taking doses on specified days can lead to a deterioration in a patient’s health condition and could even lead to death. Most of the treatment required is for newborns, heart diseases and cancer patients, in addition to emergency cases.
The anxiety among these patients is growing as they wait for news from Turkish authorities regarding reopening their borders so they can receive treatment there. Until then, they are relying on the Haematology and Oncology Centre in Idlib Central Hospital for their medical needs.