Untimely diagnosis, unawareness and poverty lead to more breast cancer in Nepal

"One of the major problems of death due to breast cancer in Nepal is poverty and untimely diagnosis," said Dr. Abish Adhikari Oncologist at the Bir Hospital in Nepali capital Kathmandu in an exclusive interview with Xinhua on Sunday. Adhikari said that the other reason why breast cancer leads to death of women is "women are not decision makers in their houses". "Many people who come here do not want to treat their wives or daughters because of the expenses as they are poor and it is really expensive here to treat cancer," Adhikari said. According to the Nepal Cancer Relief Society, of all cancer cases among the Nepali women and teenage girls as well, 60 percent is of breast cancer. Unverified rough data of the breast cancer patients in Nepal are above 50,000. Adhikari added that women are shy to talk about the problems of breast. They do not go to hospitals for the check up until they are bedridden and at the time they reach hospital they are mostly in the advanced stage. The major causes behind the breast cancer in Nepal are heredity, late pregnancy, consumption of alcohol and smoking. However, unawareness about it remains another major problem that leadind to death of many women in Nepal. Moreover, the rural women in Nepal are unaware about breast cancer, and if they are having some problem, they tend to hide it. Talking to Xinhua, Sajani Manandhar, General Secretary of Richa Bajimaya Memorial Foundation, a cancer awareness raising group said that the major cause of the preventable cancer in Nepal is unawareness. Also a nurse by profession, she said that no one bothers about mammography or regular checkup but are diagnosed at the very late stage. There are less than five hospitals that provide mammography service in the country. Roshani Chitrakar, 48 who is in advanced stage of cancer said that she did not told anyone while she found something unusual in her breast because it was not painful. "I took it normally, but when I thought it might be a cancer and told my family and I was already in the advanced stage," she said. Her daughter, Roji Manandhar, said that the doctor has already told that she will not be living long. She is having difficulty even to eat currently. Another cancer patient, 67 years old farmer, Nakkali Nahakhusi said that she told her husband when she found her breast unusual. Her husband, former armyman, immediately took her to the hospital when she told about the problem. Now, she is already cured, and said with smilingly that the god of death did not want to take me away. She said that awareness should be raised because cancer is curable at the early stage.