A Cuban resident in the United States shared a heartbreaking testimony on TikTok this Monday after urgently returning to Cuba because her father is in the terminal stage of pancreatic cancer. She reported that she was unable to obtain medications or oxygen for him, even when offering to pay.
«I just returned from Cuba. Unfortunately, I had to travel to Cuba because my father is dying,» the young woman, identified as @barbara.ana18, recounted in the video she posted to share her experience.
According to what he explained, his father has had a tumor in his pancreas for eight years that was never operated on or received formal treatment. "He has reached the final stage of his condition," he said. A doctor who visited him at home confirmed the diagnosis: the man is in the terminal phase.
The Cuban woman traveled with her mother, who had to leave her job in the United States to make the trip. Upon arrival, the reality she encountered exceeded her expectations.
"Not even with money can you find a medication for your family member. It's very hard to get some bags... you can't get them even with money. Why? Because the Cienfuegos hospital is declared at zero," he reported.
The father needs oxygen to breathe, but he couldn't obtain it either. "It's very sad to see a person there struggling for air. Wishing to grab and provide them with oxygen so they can live. But no, not even with money can they find it," he described, his voice breaking.
Anticipating criticism, the young woman was straightforward: "I'm not talking nonsense about Cuba. I'm speaking the truth. There is nothing, folks. There is nothing. And I have to say it because it's my father. It's my pain. It's not anyone else's pain. I lived it. Not you."
Her testimony did not only focus on her father's situation. During the visit, she also witnessed children asking for money on the street out of hunger. "It is not a lie that there are children who are also going hungry, who are in need, who are begging for money on the streets," she stated. The woman also has a daughter living in Cuba, which was another reason for her trip.
What is described is not an isolated case. A survey by CubaData for Diario de Cuba published on May 11 revealed that 54.2% of respondents faced severe barriers to obtaining medications, and only 4.8% obtained them without difficulty.
The situation in Cienfuegos reflects a healthcare crisis of historic proportions. that over 100,000 patients —including more than 11,000 children— were awaiting surgeries delayed due to power outages and shortages of supplies, and around five million people with chronic illnesses, including cancer patients, were experiencing disruptions in their treatments.
Médicos del Mundo stated that the shortage in Cuban public pharmacies is "practically total" at certain levels of care, with even syringes and cannulas in short supply. In December 2024, the regime's own parliament acknowledged that 70% of the basic medication list—461 out of 651 products—was either missing or had low availability.
Child begging is not a new issue either: images of children begging for money on the streets of Havana were reported as early as September 2024, and the phenomenon intensified in 2026 with documented cases on the capital's highways and in Holguín.
"Cuba hurts a lot. It’s very sad to see a family member who is dying and to be unable to do anything, even with money. There is no justification for that," the young woman concluded her testimony.
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