While many people have been quarantining and social distancing throughout the pandemic, they may also have been avoiding checkups and screenings — especially for cancer.
More than one in three adults have skipped cancer screenings during the pandemic, data from the National Comprehensive Cancer Network (CCN) and the American Cancer Society (ACS) has shown. And fear of contracting COVID-19 may have led 43% of patients to cancel appointments where they would have been tested for cancer.
The decline has prompted experts to sound the alarm that screenings should resume, particularly since the threat of cancer remains unchanged — pandemic or no pandemic. Some 600,000 individuals were diagnosed with some form of cancer in 2020, a fact sheet from the ACS and CCN reported.
"Almost 10,000 excess deaths in the U.S. from breast and colorectal cancer alone over the next 10 years will be because of pandemic-related delays in cancer screening and treatment," the National Cancer Institute said.
"(We) urge people across the country to talk with their health care provider to resume regular primary care check-ups, recommended cancer screening and evidence-based cancer treatment to lessen the negative impact the pandemic is having on identifying and treating people with cancer," the CCN and ACS said in a joint statement.
Experts say the sooner you start treatment, the greater the chance it will be successful.
Electra Paskett, Ph.D., is co-leader of the Cancer Control Program and director of the Diversity Enhancement Program at The Ohio State University Comprehensive Cancer Center.
"I understand what it's like to be told, 'You have cancer,'" Paskett said in a press release from Ohio State. "I'm living proof of the importance of regular mammograms. If you missed your appointments during the pandemic, don't worry about being late. The most important thing is that you go and get screened now. It can save your life."
