Irisleydi Trista Calzadilla, a Cuban woman suffering from a 20-centimeter malignant tumor in her spine, made an urgent plea on social media for assistance in securing a humanitarian visa. She hopes to leave Cuba for medical treatment abroad.
Irisleydi has been diagnosed with a mesenchymal chondrosarcoma, a highly aggressive and rare subtype of soft tissue sarcoma. The tumor is located behind her ovaries and infiltrates her spine between the L4 and L5 vertebrae.
"It's a retroperitoneal tumor, located behind my ovaries and infiltrating my spine between L5 and L4, measuring 20 cm. The initial biopsy confirmed it's a mesenchymal chondrosarcoma," she shared on Facebook.
The Urgent Need for Advanced Treatment
Despite undergoing chemotherapy, radiation, and surgeries, the tumor has not diminished in size. Cuban doctors have informed her that the only option left in the country is amputation, which does not guarantee an improvement in her quality of life.
"The only thing they can do here is amputate, and that won't improve my quality of life," she explained. However, specialists have told her that other countries have the resources and capability to operate and remove the tumor.
Life-Altering Impact on Daily Living
The physical deterioration she describes is severe. Without dexamethasone—a corticosteroid she's been taking for about a year—she cannot walk. "If I don't take dexamethasone, I can't walk; my feet don't respond. When you go to the hospital, there's nothing else, just dexamethasone," she stated in a circulating video.
However, the medication causes swelling and fluid retention, and she can no longer continue taking it. "You can only take it for five days at most, and I've been on it for a year. I can't keep taking this pill," she warned.
A Mother's Desperate Plea
The driving force behind her struggle is her 13-year-old son. "I have a 13-year-old boy, and he's all I think about because he really needs me; he's my entire life," she expressed tearfully in the video.
Irisleydi mentioned that she has an immigration petition pending as the spouse of a U.S. citizen, which is also stalled. Her doctor has prepared a written immigration document detailing her clinical history and diagnosis. "I have all the evidence to demonstrate the severity of my illness. So far, there's no metastasis in any other organ, just this difficult-to-remove mass," she clarified.
Crisis in the Cuban Oncology System
Her situation highlights the ongoing structural crisis within Cuba's oncology system, as documented since 2022 by the Free Cuban Medical Guild. The crisis includes severe shortages of chemotherapy drugs, a lack of radiotherapy equipment, and a collapse of diagnostic supplies. The Cuban government implicitly acknowledged the crisis in 2025 when it announced the purchase of equipment to produce cytostatics, yet the shortages continue.
The complex surgical intervention required for mesenchymal chondrosarcoma is unavailable in Cuba's current healthcare system, which is unable to meet such high-level demands. This surgery entails a significant risk of major complications, with rates around 30%.
This is not an isolated case. Other Cubans with severe illnesses have sought humanitarian visas from U.S. immigration authorities with mixed outcomes; some have been approved, while others have been denied due to insufficient evidence. In November 2025, a humanitarian visa was denied to a Cuban girl with cancer, yet in April 2026, another Cuban woman with stage three cancer received assistance to start treatment.
"I need help to leave here and reach a hospital where I can be operated on or receive treatment that can combat and remove it," Irisleydi pleaded.
Understanding Humanitarian Visas for Medical Treatment
What is a humanitarian visa?
A humanitarian visa allows individuals to temporarily enter a country for urgent reasons, such as seeking medical treatment unavailable in their home country.
Why is Irisleydi seeking a humanitarian visa?
Irisleydi is seeking a humanitarian visa to receive advanced medical treatment for her rare and aggressive cancer, which is not possible in Cuba due to the current healthcare crisis.
What challenges does the Cuban healthcare system face?
Cuba's healthcare system struggles with severe shortages of essential medical supplies, outdated equipment, and a lack of resources necessary for complex medical procedures, particularly in oncology.