Patient's story: 139-day wait for radiation therapy exposes gaps in Latvia's cancer care
A breast cancer patient says she waited almost five months for radiation therapy, which was then interrupted by equipment failure — a case that highlights broader delays in Latvia's oncology system.
A reader's account shared with Latvijas Avīze describes her path from a breast cancer diagnosis to treatment at Riga East Clinical University Hospital (RAKUS). Following surgery on November 20, 2025, she was prescribed adjuvant radiation therapy, but it only began on April 8, 2026 — 139 days, or nearly 20 weeks, later. This far exceeds international guidelines: a Central and Eastern European professional consensus on breast cancer treatment recommends starting radiation therapy within 4–6 weeks, and no later than 12 weeks after surgery.
Even after the long wait, treatment did not proceed smoothly. After just two sessions, therapy was halted due to technical problems with the radiation equipment, and the patient notes she was not the only one affected.
A long road to diagnosis, and difficulties after treatment
Before her diagnosis, the patient underwent nearly a year of examinations starting in January 2025, including three ultrasounds, a mammogram and an MRI, none of which detected the tumor until November. Problems continued after treatment too: when a painful lump appeared roughly two months after radiation therapy, RAKUS could only offer an appointment a month later. She also reported difficulty accessing a free consultation with the surgeon who had operated on her.
A systemic issue
A study by the Latvian Employers' Confederation (LDDK) and the International Association of Innovative Pharmaceutical Companies (SIFFA) found that long queues and delayed diagnostics affect a much wider group. Employers surveyed, representing over 31,000 employees, reported extra strain on colleagues and prolonged staff absences. The economic cost of preventable deaths to Latvia is estimated at around €1.1 billion a year. The study also found that only about 15% of EU-registered innovative medicines are available in Latvia, while patients' out-of-pocket payments make up a share of healthcare spending more than double the EU average.
