RAFIF ESLEEM

Gaza – While Israel has been continuously carrying out attacks on the Gaza Strip since October 7, 2023, the region remains under a severe blockade. Palestinians, unable to access even their most basic needs, are also deprived of medical treatment.

Cancer patients in the Gaza Strip are experiencing double suffering due to a shortage of medicines and the intensified blockade. One of them is Sümeyra el-Ca‘l, who was diagnosed with breast cancer in 2019. After long chemotherapy sessions, she temporarily overcame the disease, but the cancer recurred within a year. She was supposed to have breast surgery right at the beginning of the war on Gaza. However, the war, forced displacement, and the loss of contact with her doctor prevented her treatment.

Diseases Exacerbated by War in Gaza Have Reached Their Limit

With the war, her husband was detained by Israeli forces, and Sümeyra struggled to survive with her children. When she began fainting constantly, she went to a hospital in the central region and learned that the tumor had spread to her other breast and then to her lungs. Now she fears that the disease may spread throughout her body. Yet what worries her most is not the disease itself but who will take care of her children, as their father, after experiencing torture, is mentally unable to care for them.

Sümeyra el-Ca‘l explained that she often has to walk kilometers just to find a single painkiller and that many times she receives no response, trying to cope with both the disease and domestic violence. She said her health is deteriorating daily and fainting has become routine. She expressed her helplessness: “My nails have stopped growing. Are my teeth next? My hair has fallen out, my hand is swollen, and now my teeth are falling.” Although the World Health Organization has placed her on a list for treatment abroad, she cannot leave Gaza due to Israeli-imposed restrictions.

Not the disease, but the fear of leaving my children alone

Sümeyra said that she has difficulty breathing when she raises her voice or speaks for a long time, so she mostly remains silent. She wants this war in Gaza to end so that she and her children can survive.

Struggling with Stage Four Cancer

Another patient, Sümeyye el-Kefarne, was diagnosed with breast cancer in 2020. After chemotherapy, surgery, radiotherapy, and hormone treatments, she managed to fight the disease for a while. However, with the onset of the war, she learned that the cancer had spread to her liver, spine, and pelvic bones. Sümeyye el-Kefarne said, “The pain has become unbearable.” Experiencing severe bone, back, and abdominal pain, she described almost impossible difficulties in obtaining medication. She said that finding even a single painkiller made her feel lucky, as she could only get one dose per day.

Sümeyye el-Kefarne is currently waiting for a referral to receive treatment abroad. She hopes to restart chemotherapy, biological, immunological, hormonal, and radiological treatments, followed by surgery. However, the hunger and poor living conditions she is facing are worsening her illness.

Time is running out

The increasing evacuation orders in Gaza add to her anxiety. Both she and her war-injured husband are ill; they have five children but cannot fulfill their responsibilities. Sümeyye el-Kefarne said that it is impossible for her to migrate because she does not have a wheelchair. She called on international organizations, saying, “I have reached stage four, and time is running out.”