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Ayacucho’s Cancer Burden Grows as Care Capacity Stalls

Severe staffing shortages with scant diagnostic capacity push Ayacucho cancer patients to seek care outside the region.

Overview

  • Hospital data show 432 new cancer cases in the last year, with more than 1,800 patients registered for treatment, recent diagnoses or palliative care.
  • Only three oncology specialists are on staff and the service operates just two days per week, constraining timely access to care.
  • Cervical, gastric and breast cancers are the most frequently diagnosed, with many gastric cases arriving at stages III–IV that often require palliative management.
  • The unit has added a medication preparation area and a chemotherapy room, yet limited budgets and personnel continue to block service expansion and early detection.
  • A congressional oversight visit reported an obsolete lone mammography unit and a lack of specialists, urging funding to curb referrals to Huancayo and Lima that many patients cannot sustain.