Cancer Screenings Are Critical
- The decline in breast cancer screenings is alarming, so unnerving that lawmakers are asking the CDC to do something about it.
- Lawmakers are asking that the agency to work with Congress to develop solutions to backpedal the rapid decline in screenings.
- When it comes to catching a cancer diagnosis early, screenings are a critical step in the process. By attending screenings regularly, doctors can check for signs of cancer in the earliest stages. This leads to more treatment options and a higher likelihood of entering remission.
A group of about 40 House lawmakers from both sides of the aisle sent the CDC a letter on Friday asking that the federal agency do something to address the decline in routine breast cancer screenings. What's caused this decline? The Covid-19 pandemic, of course. Lawmakers are also asking that the agency work with Congress to develop solutions to backpedal the rapid decline in screenings.
Read MoreCancer Screenings Are Critical
When it comes to catching a cancer diagnosis early, screenings are a critical step in the process. By attending screenings regularly, doctors can check for signs of cancer in the earliest stages. This leads to more treatment options and a higher likelihood of entering remission.
It is Important to Continue Screenings Through COVID-19
Screening recommendations can vary depending on the type of cancer, and your risk factors, so it's important to pay attention to guidelines. For example, guidelines recommend that women with an average risk of breast cancer have an annual mammograms between the ages of 45 and 54.
“We know that cancer prevention works, and what we don’t want is a huge fallout because of COVID that patients are so afraid to leave their home that they’re missing their most important tests, like their screening mammogram,” Dr. Elizabeth Comen, a medical oncologist specializing in treating breast cancer at Memorial Sloan Kettering Cancer Center, tells SurvivorNet.
As you can see, it's extremely important to both pay attention to these guidelines but also push for check-ups if you feel that something is wrong with your body.
Decline in Screenings Due to Covid
Covid wreaked havoc on literally everything, including doctor visits. People were scared of catching the virus, especially at the height of the pandemic, so they canceled or postponed their routine doctor visits and check-ups.
In fact, during an event that The Washington Post hosted in June, Dr. Norman "Ned" Sharpless, director of the National Cancer Institute, said there was a 95% decline in various kinds of cancer screenings, including mammography, Pap smears, as well as screenings for lung and colon cancer. Sharpless compared that to his initial "worst case assumptions," such as a 75% decrease in mammograms.
In addition, NCI predicts that over the course of the next decade, about 10,000 excess deaths will occur from breast and colon cancer in the United States alone as a result of pandemic-related delays in screening and treatment.
The letter lawmakers sent also includes data from the CDC's National Breast and Cervical Cancer Early Detection program, which found that breast cancer screenings declined significantly among communities of color 84% among Hispanic women and 98% among American Indian and Alaskan Native women.
Screenings for breast and cervical cancer among all women dropped 87% and 84%, respectively, during the height of the pandemic.
"It is clear that the pandemic has had a disproportionate effect on women, forcing many of them to leave jobs to care for children and family members, and forego routine health screenings, such as those for breast cancer," the letter reads. "Preventative health screenings were reduced due to screening site closures, temporary suspension of breast cancer screening services, and health departments shifting resources to fight COVID-19, as well as families needing to stay home to tend to their own health and safety."
Contributing: Chris Spargo
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