Kathmandu Metropolitan City, in collaboration with Bir Hospital, has started free breast, uterine and cervical cancer screening for women. 

The metropolis has said that 136 people have taken referral slips from the Health Promotion Center on the first day of the screening that started on Monday. Of these, 5 people have breast cancer in their families and 3 have cervical cancer in their families, the metropolis has said. 

The metropolis is going to provide free screening as well as free treatment in the early stages in collaboration with Bir Hospital. The metropolis has provided referral slips from the ward health promotion centers for the free screening. Since there is a health promotion center in every ward of the metropolis, it has been stated that one can go to Bir Hospital for screening with a referral slip from there.

Acting Chief of Kathmandu Metropolitan City Sunita Dangol also underwent a health screening. Dangol said that if the disease is detected on time, it can be treated. ‘Cancer takes life if not detected on time. It weakens the financial situation and the family,' she said, 'If cancer can be identified on time through testing, the treatment is simpler and less expensive. Lives can be saved.' She said that women should undergo health check-ups from time to time.

Medical Science Foundation Vice Chancellor Prof. Dr. Bhupendra Kumar Basnet said that it is becoming alarming that cancer cannot be identified on time and said that the metropolis has given priority to cancer identification and running a program to solve the problem has played a great role.

Similarly, the foundation's executive director Prof. Dr. Dilip Sharma said that the metropolis has done exemplary work by starting a testing service in the field of breast, uterine and cervical cancer in women.

Sasmita Karki Thapa shared her experience of cancer treatment in the program. 'I used to get urinary tract infections. Sometimes my menstrual cycle would be irregular. I never considered it a problem,' she said, 'When I came to know from the doctor that I had cancer. At first, I didn't believe it. But, the day came when I had to believe it. I didn't think I would survive.'

Similarly, Bimala Poudel shared her experience of treatment after testing positive during last year's testing program. She said that it was easy because she knew at the first stage. 'The test showed positive. The treatment was easy because it was detected at the first stage. Now it is negative,' she said, 'If I had not tested earlier, I would have been in a state of mild illness now. Thank you to Kathmandu Metropolitan City and Bir Hospital for giving me a new life.'

Bir Hospital's  Oncologist Pradhan Sandhya Chapagain said that women are scared when they test positive for HPV during cervical cancer tests. She said, 'Many women and family members are afraid that they have cancer. However, being HPV positive does not mean that they have cancer,' she said, 'It is a risk of infection and cancer.'

The Metropolitan City has informed that so far, only HPV 16 and HPV 18 have been tested during cervical cancer tests.

According to Prakash Nepal, head of the Bir Hospital Laboratory, HPV 16 and 18 were not detected in the tests of 98 people last year. Therefore, preparations are being made to test HPV 6, HPV 11, HPV 16, HPV 18, HPV 31, HPV 33, HPV 45, HPV 52 and HPV 58 in this year's test. 

CIN, i.e. cervical intraepithelial neoplasia, is the initial stage of cancer. Doctors say that there are 3 levels (grades) of this condition. The first level is called CIN one, the second is CIN two and the third is CIN three, it was said in the test.