The unrest in Haiti continues. Gangs have controlled much of Port au Prince for 1.5 years now. For many people, the current state of unrest is the new normal. People learn how to navigate the situation as best they can to live their lives. Unfortunately, the healthcare system has taken a major hit. Many physicians have left the country and many clinics have closed. It is slowly deteriorating daily.
M. J. is a 40 year old woman who is a victim of the fractured healthcare system in Haiti. She came to our clinic for the first time last week. She was emaciated and weak and her abdomen was distended. She could not walk on her own. She said that she had been having vaginal bleeding for many months. She had been to multiple hospitals and told that she had uterine cancer. She had been given multiple follow up appointments but the physician who could help her was never available. On exam, she had a hard mass in her uterus and she was extremely anemic. We arranged for her to get a biopsy to confirm the diagnosis and then hopefully start treatment. Unfortunately, it is likely that she has metastatic cancer causing fluid to fill her abdominal cavity.
Cancer has a more favorable prognosis if it is diagnosed and treated early. Treatment for many cancers is available in Haiti. But delayed diagnosis is problematic anywhere in the world. We are seeing an increasing number of situations like this. Patients with treatable illness but diagnosis and or treatment is delayed or no longer possible due to the gang activity destabilizing Haiti and the Haitian healthcare system along with it. It is discouraging for patients, their family members, and healthcare providers. Please continue to pray for peace in Haiti. Please pray for M.J. that she will be able to get an accurate diagnosis and access treatment and, Lord willing, that she will be healed. Also, pray for healthcare workers who persevere in Haiti. Many are working in dangerous areas. All are working with limited resources to help their patients, and many patients present desperately ill. Pray that God will renew our strength, energy, and compassion moment by moment.
