"In oncology, it is not enough to treat with quality: one must treat with heart. May this unit be a refuge of hope, a center of science with soul, and the daily confirmation that, although the path may be complex, no one will walk it alone."
With these words, shared from a place of humanism, Dr. Luis Eduardo Martín Rodríguez, director of the Institute of Oncology and Radiobiology—located in the Havana municipality of Plaza de la Revolución —spoke yesterday afternoon.
His remarks took place at the inauguration of the Outpatient Oncology Treatment Unit, a space that, as he also stated, is "designed to guarantee safety, professionalism, and compassionate care for our patients."
The event coincided with the 95th birthday of Army General Raúl Castro Ruz and opened with an audio recording in which the veteran guerrilla leader declared that "life is a constant struggle." The afternoon session was attended by the President of the Republic of Cuba, Miguel Díaz-Canel Bermúdez, as well as the member of the Political Bureau and Prime Minister, Manuel Marrero Cruz.
"This event," stated Luis Eduardo Martín Rodríguez, "takes on special significance as it coincides with the 95th birthday of Army General Raúl Castro Ruz, in the centennial year of Commander-in-Chief Fidel Castro Ruz, and is part of the celebrations for the 60th anniversary of the founding of our Institute."
"The unit is named after a paradigm of oncology, the distinguished Dr. María del Carmen Barroso, who pioneered outpatient chemotherapy in Cuba in the 1980s."
The director of the Institute of Oncology and Radiobiology did not overlook the significance of the moment in which a unit like the Outpatient Treatment Unit is being established: "We are doing so," he reflected, "in a difficult context, marked by the intensification of the blockade, the energy embargo, and the threats of military intervention from the United States government."
The inauguration provided an opportunity to recognize a group of entities that made the creation of such a special center possible. The following entities received recognition from the First Secretary of the Central Committee of the Communist Party: International Insurance of Cuba (ESICUBA); the Industrial Technologies for Construction Company (TICONS); the San Miguel Construction Materials MSME; the Inicio Group; the Center for Genetic Engineering and Biotechnology (CIGB); AICA Pharmaceutical Laboratories; and the Embassy of Qatar in Cuba.
Once the Head of State cut the inaugural ribbon, he and the Prime Minister—accompanied by the Minister of Public Health, José Angel Portal Miranda, as well as other leaders from the capital and representatives of the health system—toured the facilities of the Outpatient Oncology Treatment Unit, where order, cleanliness, and silence prevailed in every corner.
In the building—as Dr. Luis Eduardo Martín Rodríguez explained to the press team of the Presidency of the Republic—treatments will go beyond chemotherapy: there will also be immunotherapy, supportive care, and other treatments "that patients need during their illness to monitor their recovery."
The director stated that the Unit "significantly improves the quality of care and comfort for patients; and, at the same time, improves the comfort of the staff by one hundred percent."
Regarding the adversity posed by the imperial blockade, and how Cubans overcome it and reinvent themselves, the director of the Institute of Oncology and Radiobiology affirmed that the Treatment Unit is on par with any top-tier cancer treatment unit in the world; "because it has the proper physical infrastructure, it has the technology, which is quite acceptable, but what it has most of all is the scientific quality of the leaders, the professors, the doctors who are here."
He explained that, of the twenty or so doctors and specialized nurses working at the new center, "many are leaders in the region, in the Americas, and in the world." He also reflected on how experts must know how to dedicate themselves to "a person who is vulnerable, a person who is psychologically affected, or a family."
Regarding the staff, the director reasoned that "we are all experiencing the same situation," with long power outages and various daily problems; but these specialists, he said, have to know how to put on a suit in the hospital, one that "has nothing to do with the one they left at home. So, it has to do with heart."
The doctor emphasized that, "if the heart is not above" the daily difficulties, "even with the best scientific training, even with the best education," there will be no success in the task of attending to between 90 and 120 patients daily, with their different treatment regimens.
At the end of February of this year, President Díaz-Canel Bermúdez visited the Institute of Oncology and Radiobiology, as part of a tour of health centers that have undergone significant technological advancements. On that occasion, when the president spoke about the nobility of a path like digital transformation, Luis Eduardo Martín shared his certainty that sometimes, when one begins to announce new ideas, they can seem like madness, until they are finally achieved.
This Wednesday, with the cutting of the inaugural ribbon, a particularly noble aspiration became a reality, one that, long ago, was one of the many dreams that Cuba has, always cherished by its people.
