Havana says U.S. embargo hurts Cuban cancer patients

Havana says U.S. embargo hurts Cuban cancer patients
Published August 28, 2014 EFE

Cuba is facing difficulties getting medications and technology to treat
children with cancer due to the U.S. economic embargo, state-run media
said Thursday, citing an official with the pediatric service of the
National Oncology and Radiobiology Institute.

The country's costs have been higher than they should have been because
it cannot purchase medications or radioactive products in the United
States and has to do so in third countries, Dr. Glenda Gomez said.

She also mentioned difficulties in obtaining equipment for anti-tumoral
therapy, a situation that has forced Cuban doctors to "transfer patients
from one province to another to receive treatment."

The Cuban health system currently has nine pediatric cancer treatment
centers spread around the country.

The problems caused by the embargo for pediatric and cancer care are one
of the most sensitive issues denounced by the Cuban government each year
in its traditional report to the U.N. General Assembly regarding the
consequences stemming from the U.S. sanctions.

Cuban authorities estimate that the country has lost more than $10
million in the oncological sector due to the blockade in recent years.
Cancer is the No. 1 cause of death on the communist-ruled island.

The U.S. embargo put in place against the island in 1962 is one of the
main issues of bilateral disagreement and, Havana says, it has caused
economic damage to the Cuban economy calculated at more than $1
trillion. EFE

Source: Havana says U.S. embargo hurts Cuban cancer patients | Fox News
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