‘Late admission, diagnosis raise cancer death count in women’

Lucknow: Around 65% women cancer patients reach hospitals in serious or advanced stage of the disease, making treatment more difficult and reducing survival chances. This is in cases of cervical and ovarian cancer, where symptoms often appear late and are often ignored in early stage.Head of the gynaecologic oncology department at KGMU, Prof Nisha Singh, addressing first foundation day programme of the department on Saturday, said breast cancer was most common, followed by cervical cancer which accounted for 22.86 per cent of cancers in women, adding to new cases and deaths every year.
She pointed out that participation in cancer screening in UP remained very low. Only about 1.5 per cent of women in the 30–49 age group undergo cervical cancer screening, while breast cancer screening rates are around 0.4 per cent. However, screening facilities for breast and cervical cancer are gradually increasing in Lucknow and nearby areas.Doctors said breast and cervical cancer cases formed majority of patients coming to hospitals, followed by ovarian cancer. According to Dr Singh, ignoring early symptoms and delaying medical consultation are major reasons why many patients reach hospitals at an advanced stage, when treatment becomes more complex and the risk to life increases.