Sri Lanka's cancer patients struggle amid economic chaos

Sri Lanka's cancer patients struggle amid economic chaos

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Priyantha Kumarasinghe starts his day in the small Sri Lankan town of Maharagama with a breakfast of two biscuits and a small glass of tea, followed by a round of cancer medicines.

The 32-year-old vegetable farmer was diagnosed with lung cancer in 2021 and started receiving treatment earlier this year just as Sri Lanka's economy went into free-fall.

Amid crippling fuel scarcity and weeks of unrest, Kumarasinghe said he was unable to travel the 155 km (96 miles) between his home and Sri Lanka's main cancer hospital on the outskirts of the country's largest city, Colombo, for treatment.

. Homagama, Sri Lanka. Reuters/Dinuka Liyanawatte
Priyantha Kumarasinghe has his head massaged at his aunt's home in Homagama.

“If I had been able to get treatment properly during June, July and August there is a good possibility I could have reduced the lung cancer,” he told Reuters. “Because that was not possible that may be the reason why the cancer has grown.”

Kumarasinghe is among hundreds of cancer patients who have had their treatment upended by Sri Lanka's worst economic crisis since independence from Britain in 1948.

Hospitals countrywide have struggled to contend with severe drug shortages, which have worsened over the last eight months, a representative of Sri Lanka's largest doctors union told Reuters.

. Colombo, Sri Lanka. Reuters/Kim Kyung-Hoon
Kumarasinghe eats food donated by a temple at a communal kitchen in a cancer care transit home near Apeksha Hospital.

"All hospitals are experiencing shortages. There is difficulty in even sourcing basics like paracetamol, vitamin C and saline for outpatient services," said Vasan Ratnasingam, a spokesperson for the Government Medical Officers' Association.

Specialist facilities like cancer and eye hospitals are running on donations, Ratnasingam said.

Sri Lanka's health ministry and senior health officials did not respond to calls from Reuters.

. Colombo, Sri Lanka. Reuters/Kim Kyung-Hoon
Ratnasingham Rajini, 45, watches her grandson S. Saksan, 5, who has leukemia, while he sleeps in a corridor of a cancer care transit home near Apeksha Hospital.

Battered by the loss of tourism and remittance earnings because of the pandemic, alongside an ill-timed tax cut, Sri Lanka slid into crisis in early 2022 after its foreign exchange reserves dried up, leaving it short of dollars to pay for fuel, food, cooking gas and medicines.

For months, the country of 22 million people faced hours-long power cuts and severe fuel shortages.

The economic hardship triggered protests, which in July ousted former President Gotabaya Rajapaksa after thousands took to the streets and occupied his official residence.

. Colombo, Sri Lanka. Reuters/Kim Kyung-Hoon
Needle marks are seen on the wrist of S. Saksan while he takes a nap after receiving cancer treatment at Apeksha Hospital, at a cancer care transit home.

Currency depreciation and record inflation have pushed middle-class families like Kumarasinghe's to the brink as they scrambled to meet higher living costs. But the family has another crisis to contend with.

Doctors are now worried the cancer has spread to Kumarasinghe's neck and spine, said his wife, Shashini Chamilka Maduhansi, 23.

. Colombo, Sri Lanka. Reuters/Kim Kyung-Hoon
S. Saksan refuses to eat food fed to him by his mother at a cancer care transit home near Apeksha Hospital.

The couple are awaiting results of an MRI scan that will direct future treatment, and have temporarily moved in with Kumarasinghe's aunt whose rented home is close to the hospital.

Their five-year-old son has been left in the care of other family members

. Colombo, Sri Lanka. Reuters/Kim Kyung-Hoon
Silaksana cries as her husband Kesakarasa Sathiyaraj, 34, hugs their son, S. Saksan at a cancer care transit home near Apeksha Hospital.

Kumarasinghe used to make a living growing leeks, carrots and cabbages, which are now being tended to by his parents.

Besides inflation, his income has been badly hit by a chemical fertiliser ban implemented last year, which has since been reversed, but led to the price of fertilisers jumping to about 30,000 Sri Lankan rupee ($82.64) a bag from about 1,600 rupees previously, Kumarasinghe said.

. Colombo, Sri Lanka. Reuters/Kim Kyung-Hoon
Sudhagaran Sadurshana, 9, who has acute myeloid leukemia, and her mother Sudhagaran Punawadee, 30, ride a bus as they travel home after being discharged from Apeksha Hospital.

"Every month I need about 70,000 rupees for expenses but it is hard to meet the costs," he said.

"Medicine is not available at the hospital so it has to be brought from pharmacies. Every single type of medication is over 1000 rupees. I'm doing my best but it's very hard."

For decades Sri Lankans have benefited from a universal public healthcare system that subsidises treatment, including medicine for serious illnesses.

But services have been hampered by the dollar shortage, which has restricted imports of medicines, and limited public funds available to hospitals to provide care.

. Colombo, Sri Lanka. Reuters/Kim Kyung-Hoon
Rathis Supiksa, 7, who has both blood cancer and bone cancer in her leg, has lunch on a bed at a cancer care transit home near Apeksha Hospital.

President Ranil Wickremesinghe has pledged to restore economic stability but has warned reforms will be painful as the country strives to increase taxes to put its public finances in order and work with creditors including India, Japan and China to restructure debt.

In September, the country entered a preliminary agreement with the International Monetary Fund (IMF) for a $2.9 billion bailout but has to put its huge debt burden on a sustainable track before disbursement can begin.

The economic hardship remains crushing for many.

. Colombo, Sri Lanka. Reuters/Kim Kyung-Hoon
Periyathambi Rathis, 32, gives water to his daughter Supiksa at a cancer care transit home near Apeksha Hospital.

Sathiyaraj Silaksana 27, has come to visit her five-year-old son S. Saksan suffering from leukemia, travelling 350 km with her husband to feed him.

"Due to the current crisis in Sri Lanka, we are facing severe problems in transport and food," said Silaksana, 27, who is pregnant with her second child.

“I have no option but to pay for my son's needs. My husband, is a construction worker. In order to pay for all these expenses we pawned our jewelry."

(Reporting Uditha Jayasinghe and Kim Kyung-Hoon; Photo Editing Kezia Levitas; Text Editing Devjyot Ghoshal and Stephen Coates; Layout Kezia Levitas)

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Slideshow

S. Saksan plays with a toy car at a cancer care transit home near Apeksha Hospital.
. Colombo, Sri Lanka. Reuters/Kim Kyung-Hoon

S. Saksan plays with a toy car at a cancer care transit home near Apeksha Hospital.

S. Saksan sits with his two grandmothers K. Wimalesvari, 63, and Rajini  at a cancer care transit home near Apeksha Hospital.
. Colombo, Sri Lanka. Reuters/Kim Kyung-Hoon

S. Saksan sits with his two grandmothers K. Wimalesvari, 63, and Rajini at a cancer care transit home near Apeksha Hospital.

S. Saksan laughs as he talks with his mother on his grandmother Rajini's phone, at a cancer care transit home near Apeksha Hospital.
. Colombo, Sri Lanka. Reuters/Kim Kyung-Hoon

S. Saksan laughs as he talks with his mother on his grandmother Rajini's phone, at a cancer care transit home near Apeksha Hospital.

Kesakarasa shows food stored in a cupboard for his son S. Saksan  at a cancer care transit home near Apeksha Hospital.
. Colombo, Sri Lanka. Reuters/Kim Kyung-Hoon

Kesakarasa shows food stored in a cupboard for his son S. Saksan at a cancer care transit home near Apeksha Hospital.

S. Saksan rests at a cancer care transit home near Apeksha Hospital.
. Colombo, Sri Lanka. Reuters/Kim Kyung-Hoon

S. Saksan rests at a cancer care transit home near Apeksha Hospital.

S. Saksan takes a nap in a corridor of a cancer care transit home near Apeksha Hospital.
. Colombo, Sri Lanka. Reuters/Kim Kyung-Hoon

S. Saksan takes a nap in a corridor of a cancer care transit home near Apeksha Hospital.

ilaksana gives a massage to her son S. Saksan at a cancer care transit home near Apeksha Hospital.
. Colombo, Sri Lanka. Reuters/Kim Kyung-Hoon

ilaksana gives a massage to her son S. Saksan at a cancer care transit home near Apeksha Hospital.

A medical worker talks to a vendor selling household goods and food for patients and their family members, outside Apeksha Hospital.
. Colombo, Sri Lanka. Reuters/Kim Kyung-Hoon

A medical worker talks to a vendor selling household goods and food for patients and their family members, outside Apeksha Hospital.

Customers stand in line to buy medicine at a pharmacy near Apeksha Hospital.
. Colombo, Sri Lanka. Reuters/Kim Kyung-Hoon

Customers stand in line to buy medicine at a pharmacy near Apeksha Hospital.

Chamindu Dissanayake, 4, who has acute myeloid leukemia, sits in a rickshaw with his father Sisira Kumara Dissanayake, 35, as they prepare to travel back to their home after being discharged from Apeksha Hospital.
. Colombo, Sri Lanka. Reuters/Kim Kyung-Hoon

Chamindu Dissanayake, 4, who has acute myeloid leukemia, sits in a rickshaw with his father Sisira Kumara Dissanayake, 35, as they prepare to travel back to their home after being discharged from Apeksha Hospital.

Sisira Kumara shows a heart surgery scar on his son Chamindu as they prepare to travel back to their home after being discharged from Apeksha Hospital.
. Colombo, Sri Lanka. Reuters/Kim Kyung-Hoon

Sisira Kumara shows a heart surgery scar on his son Chamindu as they prepare to travel back to their home after being discharged from Apeksha Hospital.

Supiksa puts on a face mask at a cancer care transit home before heading to Apeksha Hospital for cancer treatment.
. Colombo, Sri Lanka. Reuters/Kim Kyung-Hoon

Supiksa puts on a face mask at a cancer care transit home before heading to Apeksha Hospital for cancer treatment.

Supiksa is carried by her aunt as they follow her father, Periyathambi towards Apeksha Hospital for cancer treatment.
. Colombo, Sri Lanka. Reuters/Kim Kyung-Hoon

Supiksa is carried by her aunt as they follow her father, Periyathambi towards Apeksha Hospital for cancer treatment.

Supiksa sits on a table in a communal kitchen while her aunt cooks food at a cancer care transit home near Apeksha Hospital.
. Colombo, Sri Lanka. Reuters/Kim Kyung-Hoon

Supiksa sits on a table in a communal kitchen while her aunt cooks food at a cancer care transit home near Apeksha Hospital.

Punawadee shows a pack of medicine prescribed to her daughter Sadurshana as they pack their belongings before traveling home after being discharged from Apeksha Hospital.
. Colombo, Sri Lanka. Reuters/Kim Kyung-Hoon

Punawadee shows a pack of medicine prescribed to her daughter Sadurshana as they pack their belongings before traveling home after being discharged from Apeksha Hospital.

Sadurshana and her mother Punawadee ride a bus as they travel home after being discharged from Apeksha Hospital.
. Colombo, Sri Lanka. Reuters/Kim Kyung-Hoon

Sadurshana and her mother Punawadee ride a bus as they travel home after being discharged from Apeksha Hospital.

Sadurshana talks with her mother at a cancer care transit home before traveling home after being discharged from Apeksha Hospital.
. Colombo, Sri Lanka. Reuters/Kim Kyung-Hoon

Sadurshana talks with her mother at a cancer care transit home before traveling home after being discharged from Apeksha Hospital.

Medical workers walk past graffiti protesting against Sri Lanka’s former President Gotabaya Rajapaksa, on a wall outside Apeksha Hospital.
. Colombo, Sri Lanka. Reuters/Kim Kyung-Hoon

Medical workers walk past graffiti protesting against Sri Lanka’s former President Gotabaya Rajapaksa, on a wall outside Apeksha Hospital.

Kumarasinghe poses at a cancer care transit home where he is staying near Apeksha Hospital.
. Colombo, Sri Lanka. Reuters/Kim Kyung-Hoon

Kumarasinghe poses at a cancer care transit home where he is staying near Apeksha Hospital.

Shashini Chamilka Maduhansi, 23, prepares tea for her husband Kumarasinghe at his aunt's home in Homagama.
. Homagama, Sri Lanka. Reuters/Dinuka Liyanawatte

Shashini Chamilka Maduhansi, 23, prepares tea for her husband Kumarasinghe at his aunt's home in Homagama.

Biscuits for Kumarasinghe are seen on a plate at his aunt's home in Homagama.
. Homagama, Sri Lanka. Reuters/Dinuka Liyanawatte

Biscuits for Kumarasinghe are seen on a plate at his aunt's home in Homagama.

Shashini Chamilka Maduhansi prepares medicine for her husband Kumarasinghe at his aunt's home in Homagama.
. Homagama, Sri Lanka. Reuters/Dinuka Liyanawatte

Shashini Chamilka Maduhansi prepares medicine for her husband Kumarasinghe at his aunt's home in Homagama.

Kumarasinghe wears a neck support collar at his aunt's house in Homagama.
. Homagama, Sri Lanka. Reuters/Dinuka Liyanawatte

Kumarasinghe wears a neck support collar at his aunt's house in Homagama.

Kumarasinghe  plays a video game as he rests at a cancer care transit home near Apeksha Hospital.
. Colombo, Sri Lanka. Reuters/Kim Kyung-Hoon

Kumarasinghe plays a video game as he rests at a cancer care transit home near Apeksha Hospital.