[Perspectives] Temporal rationing: a man with gastric cancer in Colombia

AI Summary

This account follows Pepe, a 45-year-old goods hauler in Cali, Colombia, whose worsening symptoms and delayed diagnostic workup eventually led to the discovery of an ulcerated gastric mass. The story highlights delays in access to cancer diagnosis and care.

Pepe, a 45-year-old man living in the city of Cali, Colombia, worked as a self-employed hauler of goods with a wheelbarrow. In 2010, he presented to a general practitioner with several months of abdominal heaviness and non-exertional substernal burning. The physician provisionally diagnosed gastro-oesophageal reflux disease and prescribed omeprazole. However, Pepe's symptoms slowly worsened and 10 weeks later he returned to the physician, who ordered a gastroscopy, which occurred 2 months later, revealing an ulcerated mass.