A PENSIONER, 81, has been made to wait two years for cancer surgery at a Costa Blanca hospital as Spain’s health service struggles.
Jose Luis Madrid visited his doctor in 2024 after experiencing discomfort in his genitourinary area and spotting blood in his urine but waited years before he was sent to a specialist.
During this first physical examination bumps were identified in his testical and the same abnormalities were recognised in 2025.
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Following this, two preoperative appointments were scheduled so that he could have them removed but before either occurred they were both suspended without any medical justification, according to Plataforma por la Sanidad Publica, a citizen and social movement that aims to strengthen and defend the public healthcare system, who have shared his story.
Alongside this organisation, Jose Luis has summarised how it took two years for the Hospital Universitario de Torrevieja to diagnose him with a malign cyst in his urethra.
It was only after Jose Luis Madrid presented over 20 complaints to the Torrevieja hospital that he was sent to a urologist.
“I went from one disaster to another and one wait to another, and it’s now that they are really paying attention to me,” he explained.
His many complaints were complained about by the paperwork handler who was unhappy with his insistence, but eventually on 24 March 2026 he was seen by a urologist and then, eventually, had a cystoscopy.
This procedure confirmed Jose Luis had cancer and meant he had to see the anesthesia department, have a CT scan and undergo surgery, which has been scheduled for 27 May.
The story has been shared at an event organised by the Plataforma por la Sanidad Publica regarding access to outpatient services at this specific Torrevieja hospital.
With first hand testimonies it hopes that the Spanish healthcare system’s failings will be exposed.
In patients with cancer a four week delay in surgery increases risk by between 6% and 8% per month, according to scientific studies cited by the aforementioned collective’s spokespeople Manolo Gomez and Eva Delafuente.
Delays in treatments, such as radiotherapy, also have consequences; they increase mortality rates by 9% for head and neck tumours and by 13% for colorectal cancer.
Noncancerous cases also experience consequences if treatment is delayed.
The average wait time for a first specialist visit in the region of Comunidad Valenciana, where Torrevieja is situated, is 93 days, according to official 2024 data.
Jose Luis’ case has surpassed this lengthy average.
When asked by INFORMACION newspaper the department of health did not want to comment, stating that to refute this testimony it would have to use the patient’s personal data which is prohibited by data protection laws.
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