CANCER patients, relatives and friends yesterday completed the seventh day of their indefinite strike outside the Presidential Palace.
The protesters reiterated their determination to remain there until the government reversed its decision to close down the Nicosia general hospital oncology unit.
Over the past week dozens of supporters have flocked to the small park alongside the Presidential Palace where the demonstrators are camped out.
Andreas Christou, a representative of the Committee of Cancer Patients and Relatives of the Oncology centre at Nicosia general hospital, which organised the demonstration, said over 1,000 people had already signed their petition.
The Green party donated tents to shade the protesters from the harsh sunlight during the day and the Nicosia municipality rented and brought them an ecologically friendly toilet, he said.
“We have received so much support from everyone,” said Christou. “The park didn’t even have a toilet for us to use during the long hours we spend here and we were given one to use.”
First Lady Fotini Papadopoulou had sent food on the first night and breakfast on the second day, but following the committee’s public thanks and expression of hope that her husband, President Tassos Papadopoulos, would show similar sensitivity, the donations had stopped, he said.
The patients yesterday placed a coffin outside the park. Pinned to its side was a sign reading: “Today we are burying the oncology unit, tomorrow what will it be?” They also added a church bell, which they toll every few hours reminding passers-by that today it rings out for cancer patients, tomorrow it could be anyone.
Christou said at least one to three people spend the night at the site, including cancer patients.
“One woman was here on Sunday and is terminally ill with lung and liver cancer. She knows there is no hope left for her to live, but said she’s fighting for those left behind, to ensure they at least have dignified medical care,” he said.
The committee wants a complete oncology unit to be set up at Nicosia’s new general hospital, which will include radiotherapy, an inpatient ward, outpatient clinics and day care. However, the government has said it will only provide day care and outpatient clinics, claiming other services could be met by the Bank of Cyprus (BoC) Oncology Centre. The BoC has already said it does not have the capacity to take on more patients.
“We are dealing with a dishonest Health Minister,” said Christou. “She says one thing and does another. We don’t trust her.”
The committee says it has repeatedly proved that Health Minister Dina Akkelidou has not been above board with them and claim to have Ministry documents to contradict her claims that the government has been unable to find spare parts to repair radiotherapy equipment.
Akkelidou argues an oncology unit is being set up in Limassol and that it had already started offering chemotherapy to patients.
But “it will take years to set up an oncology unit,” Andreou said, “and they don’t even have plans for the building, let alone ordering the specialised equipment. She’s misleading the public. As for chemotherapy treatment, that’s completely untrue, because we know Limassol patients are still coming down to the Nicosia hospital for chemo”.
Many protesters have been forced to neglect their families, spending hours away from their homes. They haven’t had a proper meal or sleep in days.
“We are angry and disappointed that no one does anything. We don’t care about food or things like that. We just want our oncology unit.”
