By Hasanova Baktygul
Recently cancer has become a growing problem among women. In the southern region, which includes Osh province, the numbers of women who are sick with uterine cancer are increasing.
To understand the condition of patients we had a short conversation with women recovering from their condition at the Osh oncologic center.
“Ibadat Eje” is a citizen of Kara-Kulja region, from the village Sarikamysh. She has suffered from uterine cancer for about two years. Because of the lack of actinotherapy in Osh city oncologic center she had travelled to Almaty Kazakhstan last year. For one treatment of actinotherapy she spent 2,500 US dollars. Total amount of money which she spent for her treatment in two years was about 200,000 soms. Therefore the medicines are very expensive for ordinary people to afford. The main therapy of this disease is one course treatment of chemotherapy that costs 15,000 soms. To get full medical aid, a patient must have six treatments of chemotherapy. So, if one counts the money which she spends on having six treatments of chemotherapy it will total 90,000 soms. Which is a staggering figure since the monthly salary of most people is about 5000 soms. If someone from your relatives is ill with this disease, just imagine treating her with this salary!
“Ibadat Ege” is always gratifying God because her two sons are working in Russia and they have good jobs. Thanks to the money which they send from Russia she has a chance of recovering from her disease. In that last two years all the money which her sons earned are being spent for her treatment. If she funded the treatment herself, she would have to resort to selling her four or five domestic animals which wouldn’t generate enough income to cover her treatment. Furthermore, the period of taking chemotherapy and actinotherapy induce nausea and are thus very challenging for patients. Many women who are victims of cancer and undergo such treatment suffer from anemia. However, many women who undergo the treatments beat cancer. Patients are grateful for new advances in medicine from which they benefit. The process is painful but medicine has saved thousands of lives.
I just described a situation of a woman who couldn’t afford to pay for the treatment by herself. However, this woman was fortunate that she could
find funds to go to the hospital. But many women who suffer from this condition and don’t have any financial resources and they are dying.
Why is uterine cancer growing so fast among women? And what is the reason of this? With the aim of getting the answer for these questions we talked with doctor Jamal Akkozuevna Ormonova at the Oncologic Center in Osh. She is an onkogynecologist, a doctor who specializes in the uterine. She said that really this problem is growing among women more than it has before. And another dangerous concern is that this condition is often found among young women. Earlier studies showed that women between the ages of 40 – 60 suffered most from this condition. But now most of the patients are women from the ages of 20-35.
The reason for prevalence of this disease among the young women is early marriage and possibly abortion. These situations sometimes cause erosion in the uterus and may slowly contribute to the formation of cancer. And another important reason is that our women pay less attention to their health. Women rarely consult the doctor between the ages of 15-20. It is recommended that every woman must consult the doctor once every six months. We need experts to help identify potential problems for us, especially in the beginning stages of uterine conditions. Cancer is felt by victims in the legs and the haunches. If it is identified in beginning stages, doctors can get rid of this disease by a simple operation.
In the first three stages it can be treated with actinotherapy and chemotherapy. But these treatments, as mentioned, take a lot of time and a lot of money. These patients became very weak and they are not able to do hard work or to give birth. Unfortunately if the disease advances to the fourth stage, it is too late.
According to a Kyrgyz saying, “God says: I will save whom that saves himself.” So our dear ladies, please treat your health and get regular medical check-ups because you are the light of this world, and you are your children’s only wealth that they have. 1 gram of prophylaxis is more inexpensive than one treatment. Please, dear women take care of your health! Please do it for the sake of your children, save yourself. We need you every time!
Posted on April 20, 2010
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