During the last five and half months, the National Cancer Institute has been seeing more patients as usual. Almost one third of them are those who managed to evacuate from Russia-controlled areas.
The cancer patients have to travel a long and difficult way pending several days on the road due to multiple Russian road blocks. Now they are waiting for two victories: the Ukraine’s victory over the enemy troops and their own personal victory over the deadly disease, TSN reports.
Sixty-six-year-old Olena Oleksandrivna spent 4 days on the road to leave the Russian-seized city of Berdiansk and reach the Cancer Institute in Kyiv. “It was a difficult trip, we crossed 14 or 15 Russian road blocks on the way to Vasylivka in Zaporizhzhia Regio”, he woman shares.
Her cancer has recently progressed. During the last biopsy, she experienced bleeding, and her attending gynecologist was one of the last healthcare professionals in the Russian-controlled Berdiansk. That’s when Olena decided to take a risk and flee to the capital. Here she already had a surgery and now is getting ready for discharge. She will stay at her brother’s place during the course of chemotherapy, and then will be follow up by a mammologist. Ms. Olena was diagnosed with a carcinoma around one year ago.
Now, around 200 patients similar to Olena Oleksandrivna are receiving care at the institute. This is almost one third of all patients admitted here. They’ve come here from Russian-controlled territories and active combat zones. The mental health specialists start working with them as soon as they walk through the door.
Liudmyla Ivanivna from Lysychansk is receiving care at the same clinic. She dared to flee only in the mid-June, when a Russian shell hit her house and injured her son. When they finally left Lysychansk and reached Dnipro, she experienced bleeding. “The volunteers said there was a chance to get treatment in Kyiv. I got there thanks to them and I appreciate it so much”, the woman says.
Liudmyla Ivanivna got lucky. Although she was supposed to have a surgery almost six months ago, her disease hadn’t progressed during this time. However, according to the medics, this is a rare case. The large-scale war has left many healthcare facilities in various regions closed or ruined making it impossible to comply with the treatment protocols, which is especially critical for cancer patients. Аfter the start of the treatment course, it’s essential to carefully follow all steps without any breaks. While the war ruthlessly destroys the life around, the insidious diseases is here to ruin the body on the inside. Meanwhile, situation with cancer treatment in the country is affected even more by the consequences of the pandemic”.
“There was a lockdown, people tried to stay at home as much as possible, they avoided clinics and hospitals due to the fear of infection. Although, now our core problem is the war. This is tremendous stress for the patients”, the medics say.
The active hostilities are one of the key underlying causes behind the growing number of patients presenting for treatment in the terminal stage of disease. Some are having a relapse, while some are diagnosed with the cancer for the first time. Although there are no scientific evidence of connections between cancer and stress, the growing number of cancer patients after the start of full-scale invasion is something that cannot be ignored.
Nina Mykolaivna is getting the cancer treatment for the third time. Thirty years ago she was diagnosed with the cervical cancer. Three years ago, the doctors discovered a tumor in her kidney. Now she is treated from the lung cancer. “I’ve noticed my voice becoming harsh. I thought It might eb important and made an appointment with my physician, who referred me for X-ray scan”, she recalls.
The woman has already finished one chemotherapy course in the capital and is now waiting for a next one in two weeks. Then she is going to move to Zaporizhzhia in order to be closer to her son. “He is the border guard officer defending her homeland”, she says.
Nina Mykolaivna is very proud of her son and is determined to follow his example and defeat her very own personal enemy.
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