Allow Americans to travel to Cuba for Medical Treatment

Allow Americans to travel to Cuba for Medical Treatment

The Issue

Cuba has made at least three major medical innovations that the U.S. could benefit from: 

  1. More cancer treatments (like CIMAvax-EGF® vaccine) 
  2. A treatment for diabetic foot ulcers
  3. Treatment for advanced head and neck tumors

Roswell Park in Buffalo, NY has launched the first clinical trial in the United States to study the CIMAvax-EGF® vaccine, a lung cancer treatment that was developed in Cuba. Roswell Park is the only facility in the United States that offers this groundbreaking treatment, but it's still in early trials and only taking few patients.  

More Americans die from lung cancer than from any other type of cancer, which is why many people are eager for CimaVax to hit the U.S. market, but Cuban drugs face additional regulatory hurdles for testing and marketing compared to other drugs developed overseas.

Restricting travel will keep Americans from having access to these innovative treatment opportunities and for many, the Cuban drugs are their last hope.

In the meantime, many Americans would benefit from traveling to Cuba to be seen by a Cuban oncologist and bring back Cimavax from Cuba for personal use. 

Therefore, for the immediate future, Americans should be allowed to travel to Cuba for the above innovative and specific medical treatments and also be allowed to bring back specific Cuban drugs for the American patient's personal use.  

 

 

This petition had 198 supporters

The Issue

Cuba has made at least three major medical innovations that the U.S. could benefit from: 

  1. More cancer treatments (like CIMAvax-EGF® vaccine) 
  2. A treatment for diabetic foot ulcers
  3. Treatment for advanced head and neck tumors

Roswell Park in Buffalo, NY has launched the first clinical trial in the United States to study the CIMAvax-EGF® vaccine, a lung cancer treatment that was developed in Cuba. Roswell Park is the only facility in the United States that offers this groundbreaking treatment, but it's still in early trials and only taking few patients.  

More Americans die from lung cancer than from any other type of cancer, which is why many people are eager for CimaVax to hit the U.S. market, but Cuban drugs face additional regulatory hurdles for testing and marketing compared to other drugs developed overseas.

Restricting travel will keep Americans from having access to these innovative treatment opportunities and for many, the Cuban drugs are their last hope.

In the meantime, many Americans would benefit from traveling to Cuba to be seen by a Cuban oncologist and bring back Cimavax from Cuba for personal use. 

Therefore, for the immediate future, Americans should be allowed to travel to Cuba for the above innovative and specific medical treatments and also be allowed to bring back specific Cuban drugs for the American patient's personal use.  

 

 

The Decision Makers

Scott Hamilton
Scott Hamilton
Deputy Chief of Mission at U.S. Embassy Havana

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Petition created on July 15, 2017