Iralda Iralda Zurita, 53, is in
stage 4 of breast cancer.
Her daughter, Yaraira Macias, says the tumor was discovered 8 months ago
because Iralda was in a lot of pain.
Unable to get treatment at the hospital in the region, the family went to Guayaquil in search of specialized treatments.
In a few months the cancer evolved and contaminated other organs, forcing the family to go to Quito for treatment.
In an ultrasound, it was discovered that the cancer could already be in the liver.
Iralda and her family live on a small farm 10 kilometers from the city of San Carlos,
in the Ecuadorian Amazon.
Near their lands, there are extraction fields
and oil treatment facilities.
"I discovered my cancer 5 years ago, when I
was playing volleyball, I looked to the sky,
and I started to have seizures.
I got surgery, did chemotherapy and r
adiotherapy. Today doctors think I am stable.
All oil exploration companies in this region
are responsible for contamination and
for the diseases of our people.
The contamination happens because n
o one has ever done anything to prevent it. "
Edgar Bravo, 33, patient
of cancer in the cerebellum.
"The same situation has
been going on for decades.
If it continues as it is, we will all die,
I am afraid for my children and for everyone who lives in the Amazon.
There is only one way to end this suffering: we need to end this exploitation. "
Edgar Bravo, 33, patient
of cancer in the cerebellum.
"In 2016 I discovered my cancer, the doctor told me that I was already
leaving stage 3 and entering the
stage 4. In 2018 I was operated
and went back to surgery
the following year.
There is an oil well 400 meters from my house and many acquaintances say that the diseases we have come from the contamination of these structures.
At home I started to raise my own animals for consumption because I cannot eat food with hormones,
due to my illness.
So I live, I survive on
my own things. "
Mery Ayala Lopez, 50, resident of
Sushufindi, Sucumbíos
