‘Longer we wait, worse it gets’: Struggle of Gaza’s breast cancer patients

Deir el-Balah, Gaza Strip – Hiba Musbah has already been done 7 rounds of chemotherapy for the bosom crab that is plaguing her body. Next week volition beryllium the eighth.

But the 36-year-old parent of three, from eastbound Deir el-Balah, says her information has continued to deteriorate arsenic she waits to question extracurricular Gaza for further treatment.

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“I tin nary longer instrumentality attraction of my children arsenic I utilized to. My lad is the 1 who helps me,” she told Al Jazeera. Her hubby Motaz, who has a bosom condition, has had to instrumentality connected much work arsenic her wellness has worsened, caring for their 3 children – Mohammed, 13, Jaber, 10, and Ahmad, eight.

Musbah archetypal noticed lumps astir her close bosom successful January 2024, a fewer months aft the opening of Israel’s genocidal warfare connected Gaza. At the time, she initially ignored them due to the fact that she was displaced and the warfare was intensifying. Her parent yet insisted that she question aesculapian attention.

Doctors confirmed it was cancer, but contempt needing urgent surgery, it took 2 months for Musbah to beryllium operated on, with the hold caused by Israeli subject attacks astir the Nasser Hospital successful Khan Younis, wherever she was being treated.

“The concern was difficult, with the bombardment and the tanks,” she said. “I delayed the cognition due to the fact that of the war. The past time, I astir died from vessel fire, truthful I postponed the operation.”

Her chemotherapy was initially besides delayed for 7 months due to the fact that medicines were unavailable astatine Nasser Hospital.

Musbah’s acquisition reflects the world facing hundreds of women with bosom crab successful Gaza, wherever Israel’s warfare and blockade person severely weakened the wellness system’s quality to diagnose and dainty the disease.

Shortages of medicines and aesculapian equipment, breached diagnostic machines, the lack of radiotherapy and difficulties leaving the Gaza Strip for specialised attraction person turned the combat against crab into different conflict amid Gaza’s deepening wellness and humanitarian crisis.

Breast crab diligent Hiba Musbah has been incapable to get a computerised tomography (CT) scan for 3 months arsenic her information worsens and attraction options stay constricted [Abdelhakim Abu Riash/Al Jazeera]

Surgery, chemotherapy and the outgo of waiting

The deficiency of entree to diagnostic instrumentality is present different root of anxiousness for Musbah. She explains that she needs a caller computerised tomography (CT) scan to measure however her information has progressed, but has been incapable to get 1 due to the fact that the instrumentality is unavailable astatine nationalist hospitals.

A backstage infirmary has a scanner, she said, but the introspection costs astir 150 shekels ($48), which she cannot afford. The waiting clip for an assignment tin besides transcend 3 months.

“I americium present suffering from symptom successful my backmost and leg, and I person not had a scan for 3 months due to the fact that the instrumentality is unavailable,” she said. “My doc told maine helium was acrophobic that the illness mightiness person dispersed done my body, but I inactive bash not know.”

Musbah present struggles to locomotion and determination 1 of her arms, and experiences symptom successful her shoulder, legs and eyes, arsenic good arsenic harm to her hairsbreadth and nails during treatment.

“If I had received attraction early, things would not person reached this point. My information has go overmuch much hard due to the fact that my attraction was delayed,” she said. “Cancer patients besides request bully food, fruit, meat, caller produce, but we cannot spend everything we need.”

According to Musbah, she has been waiting for astir 2 years to permission Gaza for attraction aft receiving a aesculapian referral. But Israel, which controls all introduction and exit from Gaza, has yet to springiness her information support to travel.

“I privation to travel, person attraction and get better,” Musbah said. “I privation to regain my wellness and instrumentality to the mode I was before.”

Iman al-Haj Ahmad, a doc diagnosed with bosom cancer, helps women successful Gaza entree screening and enactment portion awaiting attraction herself [Abdelhakim Abu Riash/Al Jazeera]

Growing crisis

According to Gaza’s Ministry of Health, the Gaza Strip recorded astir 360 caller bosom crab cases annually earlier the war, compared with 250 successful 2024 and astir 260 successful 2025.

The ministry has warned that these figures whitethorn not bespeak the existent fig of cases due to the fact that screening and early-diagnosis services person mostly collapsed, perchance leaving hundreds of patients undiagnosed.

In a connection connected October 1, the ministry said repeated breakdowns of mammography machines and shortages of laboratory supplies had severely restricted aboriginal detection successful Gaza. Chemotherapy, hormonal and targeted therapies were besides unavailable oregon critically scarce, portion radiotherapy was wholly unavailable.

The ministry said country for precocious tumours had besides been halted due to the fact that of a deficiency of specialised aesculapian capabilities.

The shortage of diagnostic instrumentality adds different obstacle for women who fishy they whitethorn person cancer.

Dr Iman al-Haj Ahmad, an obstetrician and gynaecologist astatine Hikmat al-Jamei Health Centre successful Deir el-Balah, understands these barriers some arsenic a doc helping women question diagnosis and arsenic a bosom crab diligent herself, having been diagnosed successful May 2025.

“I had to hunt until I recovered a spot wherever I could get a mammogram,” al-Haj Ahmad said. “I kept reasoning astir mean women who don’t person the aesculapian cognition oregon connections that I have. If it was this hard for me, however overmuch harder indispensable it beryllium for them?”

Before the war, women could question an archetypal introspection astatine a superior healthcare centre and beryllium referred to hospitals for mammography, ultrasound scans, and further tests.

Now, al-Haj Ahmad said, imaging services are limited, immoderate crab specialists person near Gaza, and tests needed to corroborate a diagnosis are not ever disposable done nationalist wellness services. Some patients person to wage privately.

Al-Haj Ahmad waited astir a period for surgery, yet undergoing the cognition astatine Nasser Hospital with a visiting Jordanian aesculapian squad portion the infirmary was operating nether unsafe conditions.

Chemotherapy and terrible nutrient shortages aboriginal took a dense toll connected al-Haj Ahmad’s health. She said she mislaid astir 20kg (44lb), her immune strategy weakened significantly, and doctors had to intermission chemotherapy temporarily.

Al-Haj Ahmad is present receiving hormonal attraction portion waiting to question overseas for radiotherapy. Her referral for attraction overseas had been pending since September 2025.

Despite her ain illness, she continues to analyse women and notation suspected cases to the country section astatine Al-Aqsa Hospital. She besides encourages women with a household past of bosom crab to beryllium particularly attentive to changes successful their breasts.

“Early detection is particularly important successful Gaza due to the fact that attraction options are truthful limited,” she said.

Patients and their loved ones be a bosom crab consciousness lawsuit organised by Gaza’s Ministry of Health arsenic portion of ‘Pink October’ oregon Breast Cancer Awareness Month [Abdelhakim Abu Riash/Al Jazeera]

Pink October

It has been a twelvemonth since the “ceasefire” began successful Gaza, though Israeli attacks continue, bringing the decease toll from the warfare up to much than 74,400 Palestinians.

October is the planetary Breast Cancer Awareness Month – besides known arsenic Pink October. Health workers successful Gaza are participating successful the planetary initiative, with unit astatine Hekr al-Jameh Health Centre successful Deir el-Balah trying to scope women done healthcare visits and targeted consciousness sessions.

It’s portion of a Pink October run they’ve called “pink blooms from among the rubble”, which teaches women astir bosom cancer, demonstrates bosom self-examination, and offers intelligence enactment to those affected by the disease.

Sabreen al-Buhaisi, who supervises Hekr al-Jameh’s superior healthcare services, said the centre had screened betwixt 700 and 800 women during the campaign. Seven oregon 8 cases were referred to infirmary surgical departments for further assessment.

But identifying women who whitethorn person crab is lone the archetypal step. Al-Buhaisi said escaped mammography was disposable astatine a constricted fig of hospitals, wherever women look agelong waits for appointments. Private screening is excessively costly for galore families.

“The fiscal outgo is precise precocious for women. Our radical cannot spend these expenses,” she said.

Still, al-Buhaisi urged women to proceed examining their breasts contempt the hard circumstances the immense bulk unrecorded in.

“Even displacement and surviving successful the camps should not halt you from examining yourself,” she said. “Take 5 minutes of your time. It tin marque a large quality successful your attraction journey.”

Despite having a aesculapian referral, Hiba Musbah is inactive waiting to permission Gaza for attraction and hoping to retrieve truthful she tin give much clip to caring for her 3 children again [Abdelhakim Abu Riash/Al Jazeera]

Amid these hardships, Musbah continues her combat against time.

She says she has repeatedly followed up connected the question arrangements, but remains incapable to leave, with nary wide mentation for the delay.

The evacuation process is coordinated betwixt the World Health Organization and Gaza’s Ministry of Health, but they person to past taxable patients’ files to Israel for information screening and approval.

“I person been waiting for 2 years,” Musbah said. “And I inactive haven’t travelled.”