Cuba: “You’re To Blame for Your Cancer”

Erasmo Calzadilla

HAVANA TIMES — In my previous post, I exposed the lies and half-truths about the state of cancer in Cuba divulged by high government officials. These officials have made an effort to convey a false image of control over this condition, an image than can be refuted with the most elementary of statistics.

To declare an epidemic under control when this epidemic is clearly anything but is very dangerous, because, without an alarm signal, people do not act with the swiftness and determination the situation calls for. To lie about the causes of the epidemic, however, is almost criminal, because it makes it more difficult for people to protect themselves and avoid a premature death.

When cancer experts and bureaucrats in the field are asked about the causes of cancer or the risk factors that have resulted in its violent spread, they invariably reply with the following list:

• Smoking
• Alcoholism
• Obesity
• The aging of the population
• Bad eating habits
• Excessive exposure to the sun
• Sexually transmitted diseases

This list is far from accidental. Behind it lies a politically-charged message we could interpret as follows: “The main, if not the only reason cancer has spread like crazy in Cuba are the habits of the population – the State and government are blameless. If there is anything to be said about the latter, it is that they devote extraordinary efforts to overcome this situation.”

The summary of the Round Table program aired on June 18, 2014 gives us a more concrete idea of how the country’s leadership is combatting the illness:

• The government spends of millions of dollars purchasing or developing expensive medications for cancer prevention and treatment. Then, it offers medical attention to those in need without charging them a cent (as we are often reminded).
• The government implements media campaigns destined to combat the bad habits that this drug-addicted population has deliberately picked up.

Of course, we are dealing with a crude and dangerous lies. Those who are chiefly responsible for the spread of cancer are, precisely, the government. In what way? Here are at least two, as far as I know:

• Inadequate or no control over the spilling and presence of carcinogenic substances in the environment.
• Failing to inform the population where the main threats lie and how to avoid them.

In my next post, I will demonstrate why the causes mentioned by experts and bureaucrats do not even remotely account for the spread of cancer in Cuba.
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Notes:

1) Below is an excerpt from the interview offered by Dr. Romero to the Xinhua news agency, in which she explains the reasons behind the spread of cancer in Cuba, as she sees it: “it is owed to an increase in risk factors such as smoking, alcoholism, poor eating habits, excessive exposure to the sun and sexually transmitted diseases. Another risk factor is the aging of the population, for, as the average life expectancy on the island is 78, the risk of the appearance of malignant tumors (which are more common after the age of 60) increases.”

2)  I use the words “epidemic” and “pandemic”, but cancer does not classify as either.

 3) The lies and unethical practices of a group of officials should not make us blind to the efforts that Cuba’s totalitarian State does devote to offer the population good healthcare services, in defiance of the US blockade.