The wait, the worry about the passing of time, and the anger are put down in black and white in a letter.
For weeks, the Nuclear Medicine department at the Businco Oncology Hospital in Cagliari has been on hold for PET-CT imaging because a machine is down. Essentially, tests, which allow cancer patients to study and evaluate tumors and their progression, are not being performed.
The writer is Giovanni (we are omitting his surname to respect his right to privacy), describing a situation common to many other people "which is causing very serious hardship to cancer patients and their families ."
In particular, he explains that he suffers from lung cancer and is currently being treated at the European Institute of Oncology (IEO) in Milan: «Since I do not have the PET images but only the report, which shows a reactivation of the disease , I feel blocked in the treatment path. as without them it is not possible to proceed with the collegial visit to define the subsequent treatments ".
He continues: "The unavailability of images prevents or delays the assessment of treatment response, disease staging, treatment planning, and the making of therapeutic decisions that, in many cases, are urgent. The continuation of this situation seriously undermines the right to healthcare, forcing many patients to face unacceptable delays ."
"The extremely heavy psychological impact this situation has cannot be underestimated," he continues. "In itself, waiting for the test is a crucial moment for a cancer patient, determining the effectiveness of the therapies, the diagnosis of any progression of the disease, and subsequent treatment decisions."
Arnas Brotzu , the company that owns the Businco hospital, in addition to apologizing to patients , their press office announced that "the entire reporting system is being replaced; it is an innovative system worthy of a company like Arnas. We expect to resolve the issues within a week."