The study found that patients in Nepal do not take symptoms seriously, health services are also weak in cancer detection, limited capacity in pathology and imaging tests, and institutional delays in specialist consultations and initiation of treatment.
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Studies have shown that there are delays in the process from cancer diagnosis to the start of treatment in Nepal.
This conclusion was reached in a study conducted by a team of 12 people led by Dr. Dipendra Singh, a Nepali scientist working at the International Agency for Research on Cancer (IARC) under the World Health Organization (WHO).
The study team studied 1,182 breast, lung, uterine, stomach, oral, and colorectal cancer patients registered at BP Koirala Memorial Cancer Hospital, Bharatpur in 2022, informed the team's review officer.
According to the study, it takes ten to 63 days from the onset of symptoms to the first visit to seek health care, and 21 to 104 days for cancer to be confirmed after reaching a health institution. The study showed that it takes 7 to 40 days for treatment to begin after the disease is detected. Thus, the total time from the onset of symptoms to treatment is 63 to 204 days.
‘50 percent of patients had to wait more than a month after first seeing a health care provider, then more than a month and a half for diagnosis, meaning patients started treatment four months after symptoms appeared,’ said study leader Dr. Singh, ‘25 percent of patients were waiting more than six months before treatment started. ’ According to him, complications and long-term problems have emerged in patients due to such delays. The study found that men were more likely to have advanced cancer than women. Among the types of cancer, lung cancer had the highest risk of advanced cancer, followed by stomach cancer. Colorectal cancer was the least likely to have advanced cancer, the study said.
The study found that patients did not take symptoms seriously, health care providers were also weak in identifying cancer, limited capacity in pathology and imaging tests, and institutional processes to initiate specialist consultations and treatment were slow.
It is extremely important to seek treatment without delay once symptoms of cancer appear. ‘Reducing delays in cancer treatment is essential not only to improve cancer outcomes but also to strengthen Nepal’s health system,’ Dr. Singh said, ‘All three key stages of cancer treatment – time to seek health care, time to diagnosis and time to start treatment – have shown serious delays. This requires raising public awareness, building the capacity of health workers and health institutions.’
