Medicine Shortage in Lebanon Puts Cancer Patients at Risk

• 

There is a shortage in cancer medications in Lebanon, and every patient with the deadly disease has to secure a dose of treatment at his expense from outside Lebanon amid the country's economic, social, and health crises.

Stakeholders assert that several cancer patients have recently failed to conduct the required treatment sessions, knowing that these sessions cannot be postponed for more than two days, so what is the fate of cancer patients in Lebanon?

Cancer is not the only struggle for patients in Lebanon 

A breast cancer patient, Fatima Hajj Hassan, narrates her arduous journey amid the absence of medicine in Lebanon. 

“I am a cancer patient, and my treatment involves an injection, which is not available", she reported to Sputnik. 

"The price of the injection in Lebanon was 155,000 Lebanese pounds and the medicine was 30,000 pounds. But I had to order it from Iraq and paid 180 dollars so that I could complete my treatment", she added. 

Fatima continued, "I am willing to pay for it on the black market to get it, but this is not possible".

Cancer associations are "out of order"

In his turn, Hani Nassar, President of the Barbara Nassar Association for the Support of Cancer Patients, affirmed that Lebanon is facing a major shortage of medicine and treatment for cancer patients. 

He blames the situation on a dispute between the Ministry of Health and the Banque du Liban. 

Nassar stressed the importance of treating cancer patients immediately, explaining the risks of delaying their treatment. 

He stated that the situation in Lebanon today is a massacre because there is a high demand for cancer drugs, while most cancer sections have closed down and hospitals have a lower capacity to look after patients due to the crisis.