She chained herself to get her mother's medication: the ordeal of a cancer patient in Bogotá
The struggle of Martha Ofelia Rodríguez, a 57-year-old patient with lung cancer, is not only against the disease but also against a health system suffering from a medication crisis across the country. After months of interruption in her treatment, her daughter, Natali Páez, was forced to chain herself to a Famisanar EPS headquarters to demand the medication.
TL;DR
- Natali Páez protested by chaining herself to a Famisanar EPS office in Bogotá to secure cancer medication for her mother.
- The patient, Martha Ofelia Rodríguez, is 57 years old and suffers from lung cancer.
- The family had filed three legal actions (tutelas) since 2023 to obtain the medication.
- Famisanar, an EPS intervened by the government, had repeatedly failed to deliver the critical medication, causing treatment interruptions.
- The protest resulted in the immediate delivery of the medication after six months of waiting and significant deterioration in the patient's health.
- The case exemplifies a widespread medication crisis affecting the Colombian health system.