Kathmandu, January 8

The number of women suffering from cancer is more than men in Kathmandu valley, according to a report of Nepal Health Research Council.

An interim report published for Research on ‘Population-based Cancer Registry’ carried out by NHRC shows more women suffer from cancer than men. According to the report, of the total 720 cancer patients in Kathmandu, Bhaktapur and Lalitpur, more than half are women.

Research Officer at NHRC Uma Kafle said the exact number of women suffering from cancer was not revealed due to research ethics.

In the same way, research shows that Bhaktapur has the highest number of cancer patients in the valley. The report has also revealed that among other communities, Newar community has the highest number of cancer patients.

Kafle informed that people many suffered from cancer related to lungs, oral cavity, coral and rectal, breast, thyroid and cervix. “Breast cancer is more common among women while lungs cancer seen mostly in men,” she said. Similarly, most of the women suffering from cancer are between 60 and 64 years of age and men between 65 and 69 years.

Nepal Health Research Council has started research on ‘Population-based Cancer Registry’ in 2018 and the complete report is yet to be published. It aims to register cancer patients in nine district — Siraha, Saptari, Dhanusha, Mahottari, Kathmandu, Bhaktapur, Lalitpur, Eastern Rukum and Western Rukum.

“We are collecting the data on newly diagnosed cancer patients and the number of deaths due to cancer in these nine districts,” said Kafle.