SriLanka, Oct. 12 -- Cancer patients are facing a severe financial burden as the unavailability of certain medicines in government hospitals forces them to purchase drugs from outside pharmacies, with some patients spending more than Rs. 100,000 a month, a doctors' trade union leader has warned.

Dr. Chamal Sanjeewa, Chairman of the Medical and Civil Rights Doctors' Trade Union Alliance, said patients undergoing long-term cancer treatment were struggling to afford medicines that were not available through the state healthcare system.

He said the situation had placed patients and their families under immense financial pressure, forcing them to balance the cost of essential medicines against household expenses and the needs of their childr...