A LEBANESE pensioner whose four children were all born in Cyprus is being denied access to the island’s generally free cancer treatment despite having spent 23 years living in the country.
The 74-year-old woman came to Cyprus with her husband who worked for years in a bank on the island. The couple had four daughters who all attained Cypriot citizenship.
Her husband died eight years ago after which the 74-year-old finally decided to apply for Cypriot citizenship too in September 2009. The application is currently pending before the interior ministry.
According to migrant support group (KISA), the pensioner has lived legally in Cyprus for 23 years and has cut all ties, both personal and socioeconomic, to her country of origin, Lebanon.
KISA representative Doros Polycarpou told the Cyprus Mail yesterday that the 74-year-old has since discovered she has breast cancer and requires immediate treatment to combat the disease which threatens her life.
However, when she went to the Oncology Centre in Nicosia on Tuesday, doctors refused to begin her treatment, saying she had to pay in advance, since as a foreigner she was not eligible to free cancer treatment.
“Despite her long stay on the island, and due to the fact her citizenship application has yet to be approved, she was not able to have a medical card issued which would lift the economic burden of the necessary treatment, which is too costly for her to take on by herself,” said a written statement by KISA.
In a letter to Health Minister Christos Patsalides, dated March 2, KISA called on the minister to use his discretionary powers to exempt the widow pensioner from payment on humanitarian grounds so that she may start treatment immediately, for which failure to do so could prove fatal.
Beyond the humanitarian aspect of her case, Polycarpou pointed out the discrepancy between ministry policy and the law.
According to KISA, Regulation 8 covering government medical institutions and general services, provides that no fee should be charged for treatment and services provided to cancer patients, regardless of citizenship and status.
In practice, however, the ministry has interpreted this clause as applying only to EU and Cypriot citizens. It has yet to be challenged in court, said Polycarpou.
The migrant support group also wrote to the interior ministry asking for the ministry either to expedite the woman’s citizenship application or change her status so that she may become eligible for free health care.
