Kathmandu, 4 February: Doctors say that there is no need to panic about getting cancer, saying that if it is detected in the early stages, it can be cured. It is said that if cancer is detected at the right time, its treatment is possible.
Dr. Prakash Budhathoki, spokesperson for the Ministry of Health and Population, said that cancer can be prevented by getting regular health checkups and treatment if detected at an early stage. Dr. Arun Shahi, a senior cancer specialist at the Patan Institute of Health Sciences, said that any stage of the disease can be cured if cancer is treated as soon as it is detected.
“Cancer patients live in fear, saying that their lives are over and that they have given up everything. But that is not the case. They should not be afraid or panicked just because they have cancer,” he said. “The fear has increased due to the lack of understanding and negative portrayal of the disease in society. It is a chronic disease like thyroid, high blood pressure, and diabetes. If cancer is identified and treated early, it can be eradicated.”
Bhaktapur Cancer Hospital Director Dr. Ujjwal Chalise opined that while it is difficult to cure the third and fourth stages of cancer, the first and second stages can be eradicated. He informed that if the disease can be identified in the first stage, treatment is possible as it does not show any symptoms or problems.
“Most patients with stage one and stage two cancer have recovered after successful treatment,” he said. “Patients with stage three and stage four cancer have a chance of relapse. However, some risk remains for those patients.”
Four stages of cancer
There are four stages of cancer. According to Dr. Shahi, a senior oncologist at Patan Institute of Health Sciences, cancer of stages zero to three can be completely cured and cancer of stage four can be controlled. He says that it becomes dangerous if the cancer spreads from one place to another. He mentioned that cancer can be treated as long as it does not spread.
Dr. Shahi informed that if the cancer is only in a small area of the lung and has not spread anywhere, it is called stage zero, if the cancer has grown slightly, it is called stage one, if the cancer has spread a little to the lungs, it is called stage two, if the cancer has spread from the lungs to the armpit and the spleen, it is called stage three, and if it has spread from there to another organ, the liver, or the stomach, it is called stage four.
Cheap treatment in Nepal
According to Dr. Chalise, Director of Bhaktapur Cancer Hospital, 95 percent of cancer treatments are available in Nepal. Stating that Nepal is cheaper in cancer treatment compared to the world, he opined that treatment in a government hospital would reduce the financial burden on patients.
He said that cancer surgery costs between Rs 40,000 and Rs 50,000 in a government hospital, while the same treatment costs up to Rs 500,000 in a private hospital. “The service charges of government hospitals are very low. In addition, the government provides Rs 100,000 for cancer patients for treatment,” he said.
Due to cancer
Senior cancer specialist Dr. Shahi said that the main causes of cancer include excessive alcohol and tobacco consumption, diet, lifestyle, rest, radiation exposure, bacterial causes, and genetics.
“By not eating rice, vegetables and pickles, we mostly eat fast food, junk food, smoking, drinking alcohol, burnt food, not exercising, rotten and stale food, which increases the risk of cancer,” he said. He believed that cancer can be reduced if we can prevent eating, resting, exercising, smoking, drinking alcohol and obesity. According to him, cancer is the abnormal growth of cells and groups of cells in the body. It is also a type of tumor.
According to Dr. Chalise, Director of Bhaktapur Cancer Hospital, there are genes that control the processes of birth, development, and death of cells in the body. When a defect occurs in that gene, cells grow uncontrollably and eventually develop cancer in humans.
He said that the main factors that cause damage to the jinn are tobacco use, alcohol consumption, and non-food items. According to him, the hospital treats one lakh cancer patients every year. Five hundred patients come for treatment daily. Every day, 40 to 50 patients come for chemotherapy and 150 for radiation. He said that if treatment is not given on time, there is a risk of death for the patient.
World Cancer Day being celebrated with the theme ‘Unity in Separation: Stories of Cancer Survivors’
According to the World Health Organization, about one-third of all cancer deaths worldwide are caused by tobacco use, alcohol consumption, an unbalanced diet, and lack of regular exercise. The remaining causes of cancer include the effects of radiation, environmental pollution, and other infections.
In developing countries, about 30 percent of cancers are caused by hepatitis and human papillomavirus infection. According to a survey called ‘GloboCan’, more than 20,000 cancer patients are diagnosed in Nepal every year, said Dr. Budhathoki, spokesperson for the Ministry of Health.
According to the latest 2020 statistics, 16,629 people died of cancer in Nepal. He informed that lung cancer, cervical cancer, breast cancer, stomach cancer and intestinal cancer are the main ones in Nepal. Lung, stomach, intestinal, mouth and thyroid cancer are more common in men, while cervical, breast, lung, gallbladder and ovarian cancer are the main ones in women.
Government programs related to cancer prevention
Ministry spokesperson Dr. Budhathoki said that in addition to public awareness programs related to cancer, the government has put forward various programs targeting cancer patients. The government has provided medical treatment of up to Rs. 100,000 for cancer patients from the Poor Citizens’ Medical Treatment Fund, while the provincial government has also been providing additional medical assistance of up to Rs. 100,000.
Nepal has participated in the ‘Global Platform for Access to Childhood Cancer Medicines’ and has made arrangements to provide essential medicines for 35 types of cancer free of charge for the next four years.
