Catching them young

More and more Nepalis in their 20s and 30s are getting cancer. Yet little is being done about it.

Globally, the prevalence of cancer among the young is rising , and Nepal is no exception to this global trend. According to oncologists at Chitwan’s BP Koirala Memorial Cancer Hospital, with the increase in cancer cases in recent years, the number of young cancer patients in their late 20s and early 30s has also spiked. In fiscal year 2024-25 alone, the hospital recorded more than 210,000 cancer patients compared to 138,000 in 2023-24. Of the total cases in the previous fiscal year, over 7,000 were new ones. Data from the International Agency for Research on Cancer, the cancer agency of the World Health Organisation (WHO), paints a more alarming picture: Annually, an estimated 1,200-1,600 children in Nepal are diagnosed with cancer in Nepal. Meanwhile, their survival rates stand staggeringly low at only 20–30 percent.