Clock ticking for Lebanese cancer patients as shortages bite

A man holds a sign during a sit-in demonstration as shortages of cancer medications spread, in front of the U.N. headquarters in Beirut, Lebanon August 26, 2021. Picture taken August 26, 2021. REUTERS/Mohamed Azakir

BEIRUT (Reuters) - Christine Tohme had already been diagnosed with ovarian cancer when Lebanon's financial system began to unravel in 2019. She never expected that two years later her country's economic meltdown would pose a direct threat to her life.

The 50-year-old was later diagnosed with third stage colon cancer in February. Having undergone surgery earlier this year, she was then prescribed six sessions of chemotherapy.