Thyroid cancer patients across Bangladesh are facing severe suffering due to an acute shortage of Radioactive Iodine (RAI) capsules, a crucial medicine used after surgery to destroy remaining cancer cells or those that have spread to other parts of the body.
At Dhaka’s National Institute of Nuclear Medicine and Sciences (NINMAS), patients are seen roaming with prescriptions in hand, repeatedly asking when the medicine will arrive.
“I had surgery last December. The consultant at NINMAS told me iodine therapy was essential, but I haven’t received the capsule despite inquiring every month since January,” said Jahura Yasmin, 42, from Barishal. “Because of not taking the therapy, my hands and feet burn, I can’t sleep, and sometimes they swell.”
Munni, 33, from Bhola, said she underwent thyroid surgery in February but the hospital refused to accept her payment since the capsule was not available. “Doctors said the iodine capsule is very urgent for me. Without it, recovery is not possible. That is why I come every week to ask,” she said.
Sonia, 25, from Gazipur, has been visiting NINMAS since June after surgery in Uttara but is yet to get the medicine. “No one can say when it will come. That’s why I am thinking of going abroad for treatment,” she said.
The capsules, used in Radioactive Iodine Therapy to destroy remaining or spreading cancer cells after surgery, are not manufactured in Bangladesh and must be imported. The Bangladesh Atomic Energy Commission, under the Ministry of Science and Technology, is responsible for bringing them in.
Officials admitted imports have been stalled for months. “The supply of iodine capsules had stopped. There is a possibility of arrival on August 23. But only 20 capsules have been allocated for NINMAS, while the number of patients is much higher,” said Dr A.K.M. Fazlul Bari, Director (in charge) of NINMAS.
Senior Secretary of the Ministry of Science and Technology, Md. Mokabbir Hossain, said imports from Poland and Egypt were disrupted. “We have now completed the process to import directly from a European country, and hope the medicine will arrive by August 23,” he said.
He added that some liquid RAI is available at NINMAS, but due to complexities in dosage, patients are often reluctant to use it.
After thyroid cancer surgery, RAI capsules are administered at 22 centres across the country, including Bangladesh Medical University, Dhaka Medical College Hospital, Shaheed Suhrawardy Medical College Hospital, Mitford Hospital, and the National Cancer Institute in the capital. The remaining 17 centres are in government medical college hospitals of different districts.
