Lebanese cancer patients face frantic search for medication

By BASSEM MROUE and FAY ABUELGASIM
Associated Press

QLEIAT, Lebanon (AP) — Lebanon is grappling with severe shortages in medical supplies amid a devastating economic crisis. The small Mediterranean country was once a medical hub in the Mideast. Its economic crisis is rooted in decades of corruption and mismanagement by a political class that has accumulated debt and done little to encourage local industries. Medical shortages are threatening the treatment of tens of thousands of people. In desperation, many have taken to social media to try to find their medication or have turned to travelers coming from abroad. Cancer patients say they live in fear and anxiety, not knowing where their next dose of medication or chemotherapy will come from.