By Yalu Joshi, Kathmandu, Feb. 8: There has been a rise in cervical cancer owing to the lockdown that was enforced by the government to curb the spread of the virus during the peak of the COVID-19 pandemic last year.

Many people opted to not go to hospitals as they feared getting contracted with SARS-CoV-2, because of which the normal cervical problem developed into cervical cancer, say gynecologists and oncologists.

Kritipal Subedi, a gynecologist and cancer specialist at the Paropakar Maternity and Women’s Hospital in Thapathali, said that many women have contracted cervical cancer owing to the lockdown.

He said that if the treatment was done on time, cancer would not have spread to the area. But, people did not visit the hospital during lockdown so the cancerous cell spread in the cervical.

Dr. Subedi said that 2 of his 6 patients have been detected with cancer and informed that it is important to spread awareness about cervical cancer as there has been a rise in cases of cervical cancer along with its severity.

Similarly, Sunila Shakya, a gynecologist and cancer specialist at Dhulikhel Hospital, viewed that lockdown was the reason for an increasing number of cervical cancer cases.

Patients started to visit the hospital with ease in lockdown but they had already developed symptoms of cancer at that time.

Only minimal problems were seen in patients before lockdown, however, after nine months, it has turned to be fatal with various problems as the symptoms of cancer have developed and have reached the stage where it is not possible to perform surgery.

Her two patients around the age of 40 and other 5 patients aged above 50 were detected with cervical cancer.

Despite the need for follow-up, many opted to stay in the home because of fear of COVID-19 infection and did not receive timely treatment. As a result, they are now suffering from serious problems, shared Shakya.

Now, there is mounting cases of cancer, said Shakya, adding that timely treatment can cure cervical problems and stops from getting into a serious problem. But, many women choose to hide the problem because of which they do not come for treatment or come when it’s become too late.

According to Globocan, an organization that keeps statistics of cancer patients around the world, 50,000 to 70,000 new cancer patients appear in Nepal every year.

Dr. Shakya said that as the number of patients is increasing in Nepal, it is very necessary to add equipment and manpower to build a new hospital.

 How does a woman develop cervical cancer?

If the HPV virus enters in the mouth cervix, the effects begin to show after sexual intercourse.

Doctors say that there are symptoms of cervical cancer such as white water discharge and vaginal itching.

It is cancer caused by infection with Human Papilloma Virus (HPV). This infection attacks the cervix and turns into cancer eight to 10 years after infection.

A woman can be diagnosed with cervical cancer by having a Pap smear test which is the easiest, cheapest, and simplest way of finding out whether it is cancer or not. It can be done within 5 to 15 minutes. But for this test, the patient has to stop using antibiotics before a week, says the expert.

During the test, information can be obtained about the stage of cervical cancer as well, shared Shakya.

The disease is cured if the medicine is taken on time on the advice of the doctor.

If you get married at a young age, have unprotected sex at an early age, have multiple children, and have multiple pregnancies, you will be at higher risk of contracting the disease, Shakya said.