Jhapa, 15 February: The ‘Eastern Cancer Conference-2025’ began here on Friday with the participation of 350 cancer specialists from seven South Asian countries.
Speaking at the inauguration of a three-day conference organized by the Birtamod-based Purbanchal Cancer Hospital, the founding president of the SAARC Federation of Oncologists Nepal, Prof. Dr. Madan Kumar Piya, said that since cancer can affect all parts of the human body except nails and hair, the use of new technology and increasing public awareness will play an important role in its treatment and prevention.
He said that such conferences would contribute to the transfer of new knowledge and technology in cancer treatment. He urged the media to widely publicize cancer as a ‘conquerable disease’. Conference chair and Principal of B&C Medical College, Prof. Dr. Umesh Sharma, stated that the spread of cancer is becoming a major health challenge in the world today and expressed the view that the conference will help in improving treatment.
Dr. Birendra Yadav, Medical Director of Purbanchal Cancer Hospital and conference coordinator, informed that the hospital organizes an international conference every two years. “This is a conference of international importance,” he said. “The conference will hold extensive discussions on emerging trends in breast and GI cancers and share experiences and new technologies.”
One hundred specialist doctors involved in cancer treatment will present papers at the conference, while treatment experiences of people who have overcome cancer will be shared, said Pramish Giri, the conference’s public relations officer. Two years ago, the Eastern Cancer Hospital organized a similar conference in Jhapa for the first time. He said that the participation and topics of discussion have expanded in the second conference.
According to statistics from the Eastern Cancer Hospital, the number of breast and lung cancer patients is increasing every year. Public Relations Officer Giri informed that among the new patients diagnosed in the past five years, the highest number of patients treated were 814 breast cancer patients and 805 lung cancer patients. The number of patients treated was third and fourth for cervical cancer and ear, nose and throat cancer, respectively.
