Cancer patients in Yemen battle their way out of disease

By Mohammed Alragawi

ISTANBUL (AA) - In addition to displacement, extensive poverty and hunger, the seven-year-old conflict in Yemen has seriously affected most of the country’s health sector, particularly cancer patients, who lack essential medicines and adequate health care.

In conjunction with World Cancer Day, which is observed annually on Feb. 4, the National Cancer Control Foundation (NCCF) in Yemen organized the two-day program “Social Welfare Forum for Cancer Patients - Sanaa 2022” to advocate the importance of providing food and shelter to cancer patients and their families.

Speaking to Anadolu Agency, Jalal al-Fakeeh, the foundation’s information director, said the extreme cost of health care drained cancer patients and left their social needs unmet.

“Cancer patients in Yemen have two fights; a personal fight with their illness, and another fight to provide basic needs for their families amid a prolonged war that has severely affected everything,” he said.

Approximately 35,000 Yemenis currently have cancer, 16,200 of whom are women and 4,300 are children, and more than 11,000 are newly diagnosed with the disease every year, according to the World Health Organization (WHO).

The ongoing conflict resulted in the closure of many cancer clinics due to a lack of staff, medicine and equipment, forcing people to travel many miles to get vital treatment or face death eventually.

Al-Fakeeh said the war limited cancer patients’ treatment as the whole country depends on only one radiotherapy device located in a private hospital in the capital Sanaa, where patients from all corners of Yemen have to travel many miles to get treatment.

“Many businessmen, who were the main donors of cancer patients, left the country due to the insecure conditions,” he noted, saying this left the private donors with either reducing the amount of their donations or completely ending them.

The foundation had been providing charitable services for people with cancer since its establishment in 2003 and opened more branches in the cities of Taiz, Aden, Ibb and al-Hodeidah, treating thousands of patients.

However, the center in Taiz, during the period 2016 to 2019, suffered major damage due to its location in an area of clashes between the warring parties.

The center was hit by many explosives which led to the destruction of some equipment, said al-Fakeeh.

- Seeking treatment abroad

Mushtaha Ali, the sister of a female cancer patient, spoke with Anadolu Agency about her sister's lengthy fight with sarcoma, a cancer that can affect any part of the body.

“My sister had a very serious and rare type of tissue cancer. She was receiving treatment at al-Jumhuri Hospital in Sanaa for around three years, where she received laser therapy to remove the tumors,” she said.

“The cancer was stronger than my 14-year-old sister. It spread quickly and hit her lungs,” she said in despair.

Due to a lack of qualified medical staff and the absence of necessary treatment for cancer patients, Nora (original name withheld as required by her sister) had to continue her treatment overseas.

“We moved to Turkiye for better treatment, but we were very late because the cancer had already reached her spinal cord,” the sister said.

In capital Ankara, doctors at Hacettepe Oncology Hospital did “everything they could” to treat her, despite her deteriorating condition.

Nora died a few months later at the age of 17, leaving an example of the suffering of cancer patients in Yemen, the sister said.

In 2021, more than 20 million people need health assistance in Yemen while only half of Yemen’s facilities are still functioning, according to the United Nations Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs (OCHA) Yemen Humanitarian Response Plan.

- Hope remains

Today, despite the enormous challenges, the NCCF continues its efforts to provide free screening, early detection and chemotherapy for cancer patients, as well as awareness programs for the public.

Al-Fakeeh said the foundation still offers free services such as early detection of breast and cervical cancer and also free medications.

“We conduct a wide awareness program in schools, universities and other places where we target women to build a better understanding of the disease. The foundation also run an annual campaign to support the social and health care needs of cancer patients,” he said.

For those who travel from rural areas to the capital for treatment, the foundation has set up a ‘Care House’ in Sanaa for cancer patients with a 100-bed capacity, where patients stay as long as needed and receive the necessary treatment for free, al-Fakeeh noted.

The foundation is planning to open a new ‘Oncology Hope Center’ soon this year to provide radiotherapy services for all cancer patients, breast cancer patients in particular, he said.

To provide more hope for cancer patients in Yemen, al-Fakeeh urged international organizations to cooperate with local organizations to obtain the needed support and increase their ability to provide better service to the largest possible number of cancer patients.