Katia Roumieh (50 years old) was fighting breast cancer with all her might, and was determined to win, before she found herself facing a greater obstacle preventing her from continuing her battle. Her husband, Elie, tells Al-Nahar her story, which ended with a sad conclusion. He says: “She fought for two years, and her condition was good. She was the one who was diagnosed with breast cancer in the year 2019, that is, with the beginning of the economic crisis that began to loom in the country at that time.” Drug prices were still very acceptable compared to what they are today, and from 50,000 Lebanese pounds, or $33 (before the collapse of the Lebanese currency), the cost of the drug Ibrance (used to treat advanced or metastatic hormone-positive breast cancer), to $1,400. Currently an American (brought from Turkey), which is equivalent to 125 million Lebanese pounds. Elie confirms that “the main problem began when the medicine was completely cut off in Lebanon. Katia was being treated at the expense of the Ministry of Health without finding her medicine in the markets. For 3 months, she was unable to secure it because it was missing, so the solution was to secure it from abroad, specifically from Turkey.” “. The cost of the medication became $1,400. But being able to secure it every month was a difficult task, especially since the husband works as a truck driver, and the family’s financial situation is “in ruins,” according to Elie. Katya’s condition declined dramatically and quickly, the cancer spread further and she died! Her condition deteriorated and she died. The issue of securing medicine was a complex and exhausting task during the intensification of the crisis. Elie points out that he “had to pay a ‘barrel’ of money at the Karantina Center to obtain the medicine twice, but he was unable to continue doing so. The alternative was to resort to Turkey to secure it, even though the cost of the medicine prevented him from obtaining it on an ongoing basis.” Katya died 1 year and 4 months ago. The interruption of medication for a period of time may be an important reason for the decline in her condition, according to her husband, who stresses that “the doctor confirmed that her condition declined as a result of her interruption of continuous treatment, and then the cancer spread further in the body, which led to health complications, and then death.” Katya’s story is one. From the stories of thousands of patients in Lebanon, who found themselves suffering in the face of the death of their loved ones, as a result of the inability to secure sufficient funds to continue and complete treatment. Everyone’s statement is that the economic crisis has exposed various sectors, including the health sector, which made Lebanon gradually collapse, after it was known as the “Hospital of the East.” No documented numbers. Despite the outcry from cancer doctors and concerned authorities about the catastrophic situation of cancer patients in Lebanon, the interruption of medicines or their permanent unavailability, or the popularity of the “bag” trade and counterfeit and smuggled medicines, there are no documented numbers available at the Ministry of Health, the concerned authorities, or even medical universities. About the extent of the impact of the economic crisis on cancer patients and the death rate of people who were deprived of treatment or were interrupted from treatment for periods, due to the cost or late diagnosis, which led to an exacerbation of cancer cases in Lebanon. We are in a vicious circle, as the problem is intertwined, stakeholders are multiplied, and treatment becomes increasingly difficult, starting with the lack of funding and reduced spending, passing through the crisis of medication interruption, storage, and smuggling, all the way to counterfeit medications, to end with some cancer patients dropping out of their treatments and medications, as a result of the inability to pay the costs and late diagnosis. For their health conditions…and here is the disaster! Among the worst crises, the World Bank’s description of the economic crisis in Lebanon may be closest to reality, as it is “one of the ten worst global crises since the middle of the nineteenth century.” The Lebanon Economic Observatory report, spring 2023, entitled “Normalization with the Crisis is Not a Path to Stability,” provided a presentation of the latest developments and developments. According to the recent economic report, the Lebanese pound continued to deteriorate sharply despite the interventions of the Bank of Lebanon to try to stabilize the exchange rate in the parallel market. The currency lost more than 98 percent of its value before the crisis by February 2023, and then its collapse accelerated recently. The inflation rate is 171.2 percent in 2022, which is one of the highest rates in the world. A study prepared by the United Nations Economic and Social Commission for Western Asia (ESCWA) also revealed that poverty in Lebanon has worsened “to a tremendous extent” in just one year, and recorded that “ 33 percent of families in Lebanon are deprived of health care, and the percentage of families unable to obtain medicine has risen to more than half.” Today, a major crisis looms, which is the removal of total support for cancer and incurable medicines. The head of the Syndicate of Drug Importers in Lebanon, Joseph Gharib, had expressed his fear of what things would lead to before the Council of Ministers decided to continue supporting medicines for incurable diseases by approving an amount of thirty million dollars in addition to one thousand five hundred billion pounds for this purpose. Note that the amount approved by the government to provide support for incurable medicines may be sufficient for a period of 3 months. But what happens after the 3-month period ends? A quick approach to the differences in prices of some cancer medicines, for which the subsidies have been removed, it appears clear that the shocking increase in their cost, which explains the inability of some patients to bear the burden of this medical bill, especially in light of the failure to adjust the prices of the guaranteeing bodies to suit today’s stage. Docetaxel 80 (the drug is used for some types of cancer, such as breast, lung, stomach, and head cancer, when the disease is widespread, and in advanced cancer cases): its price before the crisis was 270 US dollars, according to 1,500 Lebanese pounds, which is equivalent to 400 thousand Lebanese pounds. Today after the crisis Its price is 218 US dollars, equivalent to 19 million Lebanese pounds. It should be noted that the price of the medicine decreased in dollars, but it rose insanely in the Lebanese currency (as a result of the significant collapse of the Lebanese currency). Carboplatine (a type of chemotherapy that works to slow or stop cell growth): Its price was 30 thousand liras before the crisis, or 20 dollars, and today its price is 21.3 US dollars, equivalent to 1 million and 900 thousand Lebanese pounds (exchange rate index 91). One thousand Lebanese pounds. The drug Etoposide (which is a type of chemical treatment and works to slow or stop cell growth) was priced at 24 thousand Lebanese pounds before the crisis,…
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2023-09-22 21:00:00
#Lebanon…inflated #drug #prices #fuel #cancer #cells
