From a dental intervention to an unexpected and shocking diagnosis that turned his life upside down, Gerges Saba, a pensioner in his fifties, found himself 3 years ago in a confrontation with a malignant tumor in the neck area. He did not expect that his visit to the dentist would reveal what is more dangerous than that, and that the damage to the gums and the fall of his teeth hide behind a malignant disease that grows silently inside him.
For 3 years, Gerges has been trying to confront cancer with all his might. He who used to fight the enemy without fear or hesitation, found himself in front of a hidden enemy, invisible but malicious and dangerous. His journey with the disease is not over, he is today in a sensitive stage and he needs to follow up his treatment so that his health does not deteriorate, but the medicine is not available, and his recovery depends on securing treatment.
Everything in Lebanon has become like a nightmare, and health has become an impossible dream in a country that is demanding medicine, treatment and hospitalization in light of the high prices and the interruption of medicines, especially cancerous ones. Gerges’ story is one of thousands of stories and the daily suffering of the Lebanese patient who faces his illness with patience and the help of white hands after the state was unable to secure his right to treatment and health.
Gerges’ case is medically difficult, as the affected area is very delicate and it is impossible to perform surgery in it because the tumor is located in the neck area that connects the head artery and the blood. In an interview with An-Nahar, the patient shares his pain and suffering by saying, “I started my journey with treatment 3 years ago, from chemotherapy to radiotherapy, and I underwent more than 60 sessions to get rid of this tumor. Every 25 days I was admitted to the hospital for 5 days, I tested pain and patience, but I I was determined to defeat him.”
The treatment plan changed with the progression of time, “I started taking a session every 21 days and stayed in the hospital for half a day, but at this point I had to undergo immune sessions by providing 9 boxes of a medicine called ERBITUX 5MG/ML for each session. But the problem is that this medicine It is not available and we cannot find it in Lebanon, and I succeeded in securing two cans of it in Iraq at a price of $135 per pack.”
It is difficult for Gerges to ask for help, and it is not easy for him to do so, especially since the circumstances are difficult for everyone, but he has lost hope of getting what would save his life, as he does not have the money to buy medicine from abroad, and in Lebanon medicine does not exist. He points out that “I had to stop the sessions a month ago because I am unable to secure medicine, especially since the cost of one session is about $1,200 and he is unable to secure this amount that exceeds his ability and his salary, which is not worth anything today.”
Thus, Gerges found himself in front of two options: either to stop the treatment, which means losing hope for recovery, or to ask for help, so that his cry would reach those with white hands and help him to defeat the disease. Gerges underwent 2 out of 6 sessions, and after 4 sessions, he needs 9 boxes of his medicine in each session.
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