Cancer treatment possible in Nepal: NCHRC

Kathmandu, June 6/Nepal Cancer Hospital and Research Centre has said no cancer patient will have to go to foreign countries for treatment.

Dr Sudip Shrestha, executive director at NCHRC, said, “We are trying our best to instal the latest equipment and provide treatment through best doctors available in the country.” Stating that the hospital had given topmost priority to cleanliness and sanitation, he said, “To maintain cleanliness in the hospital, Waste Management and Infection Control Committee has been formed.”

“We organise workshops, training programmes and seminars for hospital staffers on a regular basis to update their knowledge enhance skills,” he added. There are 516 total staffers at the hospital. Of them, 136 are non-medical staffers.

During the programme recently held to make public the hospital’s annual report, President of Nepal Workers and Peasants Party Narayan Man Bijukchhen said it was necessary to upgrade services at health facilities so that Nepali citizen would not have to go to foreign countries for cancer treatment.

Cancer is one of the leading causes of morbidity and mortality worldwide, with approximately 14 million new cases and eight million cancer-related deaths annually.

According to World Health Organisation, the number of new cases could rise by about 70 per cent over the next 20 years. In Nepal, according to estimates, some 30,000 new cases of cancer are diagnosed every year.

The WHO defines cancer as a large group of diseases that can affect any part of the body. One defining feature of cancer is the rapid creation of abnormal cells that grow beyond their usual boundaries, and which can then invade adjoining parts of the body and spread to other organs. Major causes of cancer are smoking, alcohol and obesity.

Sexually transmitted human papillomavirus infection, infection by hepatitis or other carcinogenic infections, ionising and ultraviolet radiation, urban air pollution and indoor smoke from household use of solid fuels also are contributing to rise in cancer cases.