60% of women on cervical cancer treatment at risk of severe malnutrition

KAMPALA, UGANDA | THE INDEPENDENT | A new study has found over sixty per cent of women undergoing Cervical Cancer treatment at the Uganda Cancer Institute (UCI) to be experiencing extreme wasting, a complication technically referred to as Cancer cachexia.

Releasing preliminary findings on Friday, Dr Innocent Atuhe, who was a Co-Investigator, said this study, which started in 202,3, involved women of advanced cervical cancer receiving chemotherapy, and they found the majority that suffered cachexia were those aged fifty years and above. The patients who were periodically assessed for nutritional status and their body mass index were found to have loss of appetite, loss of muscle and loss of weight.

Apart from being at risk of malnutrition, the doctor said an equally high number of women, about forty-five percent, also experienced a lot of pain even as they were receiving treatment and yet their approach to care is to ensure that a patient is free from pain.

While reacting to these findings, Dr Martin Oringa, who heads the Gyn Oncology Unit at the institute, said these findings are offering them clues on what to focus on while providing care as a malnourished patient cannot respond well to treatment.

Daily, he says, the institute registers up to five patients getting newly diagnosed with cervical cancer, and this study recommends that clinicians should always assess the nutritional status of their patients.

Dr Henry Ddungu, a cancer and pain specialist, says while some patients on chemotherapy may experience a genuine loss of appetite due to the effects of treatment, others get misguided with misconceptions in the community that certain foods make cancer progress.

For instance, he notes that several patients have been wrongly told that sugar makes cancer worse, and yet there is no scientific evidence to support that.

Encouraging those living with cancer to always seek advice from medical workers rather than relying on referrals in the community, Ddungu says cervical cancer, whose burden remains very high, can be easily eliminated by vaccination, screening and early detection as it can be cured.

The institute is conducting this study, which is still ongoing, together with King Caesar University.

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