The Cuban Dalía Cuevas Leblanc, a 31-year-old chemical engineer, cannot continue her chemotherapy treatment because the Oncology Hospital of Santiago de Cuba lacks the medications her doctors require.
In light of such circumstances, her cousin, Arisandra Filiu, issued an urgent call on Facebook asking for help to locate the medications before the interruption of treatment worsens her situation.
Dalía was diagnosed with ovarian and peritoneal cancer at the age of 27, a disease that forced her to retire early. Today, she survives on a pension of 3,056 Cuban pesos per month, which is even below the current minimum pension.
The medications that your specialists require and that are not available in the public system are cisplatin, cyclophosphamide, and Adriamycin (doxorubicin). Your doctors have also considered ifosfamide with mesna as an alternative.
The economic drama surrounding the situation is devastating. "One of these medications can cost around 35,000 Cuban pesos in the informal market. Dalía receives 3,056 pesos. This means that a single vial can represent more than eleven months of her pension," Filiu wrote.
The family is not seeking drugs of uncertain origin. “We are not looking for medications of dubious provenance. We want to locate the appropriate medications, be able to verify them, and ensure they safely reach their doctors,” the cousin clarified in her post.
The call invites doctors, nurses, individuals who have undergone cancer treatments, and Cubans both on the island and abroad. "Perhaps the medication that Dalía needs is in the hands of someone who will never know that a 31-year-old girl urgently needs it," Filiu remarked.
The case of Dalía is not exceptional: it reflects the most severe health crisis that Cuba has faced in decades. In mid-August, President Miguel Díaz-Canel acknowledged the magnitude of the health disaster, recognizing that only 30% of the basic medication supply is available in the country, which means that seven out of ten essential medications are absent.
BioCubaFarma, the state-owned company responsible for producing medications, admitted that it cannot guarantee nearly 300 of the 395 drugs committed to the national health system. More than 117,000 adult cancer patients and about 2,200 children lack adequate primary treatments, and over 12,400 people require chemotherapy without being able to access it.
In this context, social media has become the last resort for families. Solidarity on social media recently allowed a daughter to obtain chemotherapy medications for her mother in Cuba, a precedent that nurtures the hope of Dalía's family.
Ciego de Ávila operated this month with only 10% of the essential medicines available, a figure that illustrates the extent to which the collapse of the Cuban pharmaceutical system affects the entire country, not just Santiago.
Anyone with information on where to obtain the medications or who can help in any way can message Arisandra Filiu directly on Facebook. "I'm not here today to ask for pity for my cousin. I'm here to ask for an opportunity for her. An opportunity to continue her treatment. An opportunity to keep fighting. An opportunity to keep dreaming of a life after this illness," she concluded.
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