Gozitan cancer patients have gone through a “gruelling” nine-hour journey for one session of chemotherapy, having to travel to Malta and back for the life-saving treatment, a patient recounted.

There should have been chemo in Gozo ages ago. By now, there was ample time to have the expertise if they really wanted to

Florence Gates, who lives in Gozo, had to do the trip at least 21 times after she was diagnosed with breast cancer last year.

“The journey was dreadful. It meant getting up at 5am to be at Gozo General Hospital to get the hospital minivan and catch the 7.30am ferry,” the 73-year-old said, adding she would get back home at about 4pm.

The minivan driver was “fantastic” but the vehicle was uncomfortable and “dilapidated”, she said.

On getting to Malta, the van first dropped off patients at Mater Dei Hospital, St Luke’s Hospital and, finally, at Sir Paul Boffa Hospital, where cancer patients are treated.

Patients then had to queue to pick up their chemo drugs, which were prepared by a pharmacist.

The actual chemotherapy, administered intravenously, lasted about an hour, during which time staff constantly checked if all was well.

The van would then pick up the patients and go round the other hospitals before heading back to Gozo.

“By the time we got back to the Gozo hospital it was a nine-hour long trip, which is a lot,” Ms Gates said.

The plight faced by Gozitan cancer patients has come to light over the past weeks following the resignation of the head of Mater Dei Hospital’s Oncology Department, Stephen Brincat.

He said he resigned because the Government was ignoring his advice on essential issues including the introduction of chemotherapy in Gozo. He was against introducing the service unless there was the necessary expertise.

To back up his argument, Prof. Brincat said that, in the past, patients in Gozo had died of chemotherapy toxicity – a side effect of the treatment – because of the lack of expertise. It later emerged he was talking about two patients who died “more than 15 years ago”. The police are investigating the case and the Health Ministry is carrying out an internal inquiry.

The Malta Union of Midwives and Nurses insists that safe chemotherapy can be introduced in Gozo immediately.

While policymakers debated the way forward over the years, Gozitan cancer patients have had to make do with the situation.

Ms Gates explained that, after having a mastectomy, she had to undergo six sessions of chemotherapy, held three weeks apart. Nausea was controlled with pills, yet she was very ill after the last three sessions.

She also had to undergo 15 days of radiotherapy, which meant travelling to Malta five days a week for three weeks.

“That was a very gruelling experience. It completely knocked me out,” she said, adding that she was exhausted after each session.

Ms Gates deems it necessary that chemotherapy is available in Gozo for Gozitan patients. But staff training is a must.

“It’s very staff-intensive. They don’t just hook you up and go away,” she explained.

A Gozitan woman whose husband recently died of stomach cancer thinks too much time has been wasted over equipping Gozo for the essential treatment.

Preferring to remain anonymous, she said she used to drive her husband to Malta for radiotherapy. A few months before he died, they had to cross to Malta on 25 consecutive days.

“It was terrible for him. Once he was so weak that when we got to Ċirkewwa we had to call an ambulance… There should have been chemo in Gozo ages ago.

“By now, there was ample time to have the expertise if they really wanted to,” she said.

Helen Muscat, from the Action for Breast Cancer Foundation, agreed. She said she knew many Gozitan patients who suffered because of the long trip they had to face while battling nausea and exhaustion.

Agreeing that it was important for staff to be well trained, she could not see why this was not the case.

“I don’t see why it took so long. It could only have been due to resistance and lack of cooperation,” she said.

Gertrude Abela, from the Breast Cancer Support Group, said Gozitan patients wanted and needed the service. However, expertise was important.