"Three deaths a day"... warning that cancer in Gaza is becoming a death sentence

The head of the oncology and hematology department at Nasser Medical Complex in Khan Younis, Dr. Saleh Sheikh Al-Eid, warned of the increasing risk of death for cancer patients in the Gaza Strip, stressing that between 3 and 4 patients lose their lives daily due to delayed treatment and lack of specialized care, amid continued Israeli restrictions on patient travel and shortage of necessary medications. Sheikh Al-Eid told the newspaper "Filastin" yesterday that cancer patients in Gaza are living under extremely harsh health conditions, explaining that about 11,000 patients need follow-up and treatment, including large numbers who need urgent travel to receive treatments not available inside the Strip. He added that the partial opening of the Rafah crossing since February has not met patients' needs, as only about 30 patients leave daily from various specialties, including only 5 or 6 cancer patients, a number he described as "very few" compared to the scale of need. He explained that the number of new cases diagnosed monthly exceeds the number of patients able to travel, leading to an accumulation of patients inside the Strip, saying that "cases diagnosed in a month are double the cases that travel, so we have a continuous accumulation of patients who cannot find appropriate treatment." He pointed out that the problem lies not only in delayed travel but also in the absence of treatment options inside Gaza, explaining that some patients receive available treatment, but when the disease progresses, they need to move to other treatment lines not available in the Strip. Sheikh Al-Eid said that some patients "may die before obtaining approval to travel," noting that coordination procedures may take two or three weeks and sometimes more than a month, a period that could be fatal for a cancer patient needing urgent treatment. He indicated that the most common types of cancer diagnosed in the Gaza Strip are breast, colon, lung, and prostate cancer, noting that the order of prevalence has not changed significantly compared to before the war. However, he stressed that the conditions experienced by the population during the war may increase the risk of infection and worsen patients' conditions, due to malnutrition, water and air pollution, and living in unsanitary conditions inside tents. He confirmed that the oncology treatment system in Gaza suffers from a severe shortage of specialized medications and treatments, explaining that patients need chemotherapy, immunotherapy, and targeted drugs, in addition to tests and analyses necessary for accurate diagnosis. He pointed out that the Turkish Friendship Hospital going out of service dealt a major blow to cancer treatment services in the Strip and increased pressure on hospitals that still operate with limited capabilities. He said that the outpatient clinics in the oncology department at Nasser Complex receive at least 100 patients daily, amid increasing need for follow-up and treatment. Regarding death tolls, Sheikh Al-Eid explained that official statistics indicate between 3 and 4 cancer patients die daily, but he suggested that actual numbers are higher, due to cases dying at home and not reaching hospitals. He added that some patients leaving for treatment outside the Strip may have slightly reduced the number of deaths inside Gaza, "but the reason is that some patients die after long delays in treatment, and even when they arrive abroad, their condition is advanced." He explained that pediatric cancer patients have relatively better chances of travel, as some are referred for treatment in Jordan, but the bigger problem remains for adult cancer patients, as the main destination available to them is Egypt. Sheikh Al-Eid called for increasing the number of working days at the Rafah crossing, saying that opening the crossing for only three days is not enough after long closure periods, demanding it be opened six days or more and increasing the number of patients allowed to travel. He stressed that saving cancer patients in Gaza requires "urgently bringing in treatment, increasing the number of travelers, and providing necessary medications so that doctors can keep patients alive until they receive appropriate treatment outside the Strip." He concluded by saying that time for cancer patients "is not just waiting, but may be the difference between life and death."