Agency
Experts have cited delayed childbearing as one of the key factors behind the rising number of women diagnosed with reproductive system cancers, including cervical, endometrial, ovarian and uterine cancers.
Speaking at a meeting of gynaecologists to examine emerging trends and possible explanations for the increase in reproductive cancers in Uganda, Dr Walter Drake Erabu, a gynaecologic oncologist at the Uganda Cancer Institute in Gulu, said projections indicate that cervical cancer cases are expected to rise by 35.8 per cent by 2030.
While breast and cervical cancers continue to record the highest average annual increases, Dr Erabu noted that ovarian cancer is rising at an estimated 1.3 per cent per year, while uterine cancer is increasing by 1.0 per cent annually.
He identified obesity and delayed first conception as major risk factors across all these cancers.
Further explaining the trend, Dr Othniel Musana, a specialist at St Francis Hospital Nsambya, said younger women face a double burden.
He noted that many are diagnosed late, not necessarily because they delay seeking care, but because screening services in many health facilities are handled by lower-cadre health workers, who often mistake early cancer symptoms for common reproductive health conditions.
