A commitment to the lives of cancer patients is the guiding principle of the specialists at the Holguin Territorial Oncology Center. A national reference institution for the monitoring and treatment of malignant tumors in various locations.
Although this type of diagnosis represents a significant blow to both patients and their families. The experts who work there guarantee care for each case. Despite the resource limitations imposed by the United States’ economic, commercial, and financial blockade against Cuba.
A team of more than 200 professionals at the center. Affiliated with the Vladimir Ilich Lenin University Teaching Hospital. It serves patients from all over eastern Cuba and provides follow-up care in surgery, nuclear medicine, clinical oncology, and radiotherapy.
Dr. Pedro Alejandro Escalona Díaz, one of the recent graduates of the specialty and current director of the center. He noted that one of the most humane aspects of Cuban healthcare is providing these treatments free of charge. The costs amount to $15,000 per patient, just for cytostatic serums.
Sometimes not all alternatives are available, but surgery is prioritized. And options are applied with a focus on achieving the main goal. Ensuring the survival of each patient and also providing support and psychological guidance.000
When resources are lacking, the training of the medical and technical staff compensates for the shortages of supplies and medications. The team is committed to daily improvement and the constant study of global advancements in this disease. Which affects more than seven million new cases annually.
Radiotherapy services in the province are provided thanks to the intensive work of electromedical and nuclear medicine experts. Also whose maintenance work keeps these machines operational. These machines cost over $16 million on the international market.
A comprehensive strategy addresses early diagnosis in primary healthcare and the promotion of healthy habits. Essential for preventing the disease, one of the leading causes of death in eastern Cuba.
In Holguin, work is underway to renovate the outpatient clinic and inpatient wards. With investments in furniture and plumbing, necessary to improve patient comfort.
Cástulo Gutiérrez Puello is one of the hundreds of patients who visit the Holguin Cancer Center daily. In an interview with the Cuban News Agency, he said it is his second home and a place where he feels protected and well cared for.
A prostate cancer diagnosis at age 67 forced him to adopt a new way of life and undergo radiotherapy treatments in several sessions; but the medical staff did their utmost to ensure quality care.
Data such as approximately two thousand new cases and more than 45,000 outpatient visits in 2025 offer a glimpse into the demand and the effort directed toward maintaining vitality. Amidst material shortages and a deficit in electricity generation, which have not halted the facility’s operations.
The institution’s hallways are a daily hive of activity with doctors and patients. Although limitations persist, the life of each patient remains the highest priority.
With information from CNA
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