Deir el-Balah, Gaza – Esad Darwish, 42, holds her medical file tightly as she waits in line at Yafa Medical Hospital to see a doctor. She glances at the physician’s door as the corridor fills up with more patients and their companions, waiting patiently for her name to be called out. Her experience with breast cancer began at the start of July when she noticed signs of the disease.
Massive disruptions to healthcare, caused by Israel’s ongoing genocide in Gaza, and the demands of her home in Deir el-Balah meant Esad delayed seeing a doctor. She has more questions than answers and faces long, agonising waits for the results of every examination. Since the siege on Gaza tightened after the war began in October 2023, there has been a lack of medicine, medical equipment, and specialised diagnostic services.
The World Health Organization (WHO) estimates there are around 10,000 cancer cases in Gaza, with more than 2,000 new cases diagnosed annually. Breast cancer remains one of the most common types of cancer among women. Outcomes of the disease largely depend on early diagnosis and timely access to appropriate care, but these are difficult to find in a war zone.
The mammography machine at Yafa Medical Hospital in Deir el-Balah is frequently “out of action”, and spare parts are hard to find. Hala al-Buhaisi said women are left in a “cycle of confusion and exhaustion” due to the difficulties in getting proper diagnosis and treatment. During the conflict, al-Buhaisi has noticed an increase in women entering the hospital with advanced stages of cancer.
Women are often too busy keeping their families alive – by fetching water or cooking food – to go to the hospital, tasks made even more time-consuming, exhausting and dangerous as the war continues. Since the beginning of the war, Yafa Hospital has recorded a 40 percent or higher increase in cases with advanced stages of cancer. Al-Buhaisi says that more than 4,000 women are still waiting to travel outside Gaza to complete their treatment, and this can have serious consequences for patients’ wellbeing.
Shortages in radiotherapy and a scarcity of oncology medications are also leading to slower recovery rates. Al-Buhaisi said that patients also require essential psychological support. Living conditions in Gaza – with all its anxieties, turmoil, and grief – place additional psychological pressure on patients and affect their recovery.
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