Breast and Cervical Cancer Screenings Dropped 87% and 84% Respectively During the Height of the Pandemic; Why It’s Imperative To Get Back on Track

Amy DeGroff, health scientist and lead author of the CDC report says that "this study highlights a decline in cancer screening among women of racial and ethnic minority groups with low incomes when their access to medical services decreased at the beginning of the pandemic. They reinforce the need to safely maintain routine health care services during the pandemic, especially when the health care environment meets COVID-19 safety guidelines."

The CDC’s press release states that the study is based on screenings performed “during April 2020 as compared with the previous 5-year averages for that month.”

Related: Delayed Cancer Screenings Due to COVID: What Patients and Caregivers Should Do Now

Not only were patients skipping screenings, but screenings sites were slowing down or closing their services due to rapid spread of the virus. Also, doctors and scientists weren’t immediately clear on how the virus was spreading. Fear and uncertainty likely contributed to people wanting to stay home.

"CDC encourages health care professionals to help minimize delays in testing by continuing routine cancer screening for women having symptoms or at high risk for breast or cervical cancer," DeGroff continued in the statement. "The Early Detection Program can help women overcome barriers to health equity by educating them about the importance of routine screening, addressing their concerns about COVID-19 transmission, and helping them to safely access screening through interventions like patient navigation."

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Declines in breast cancer screening varied “from 84% percent among Hispanic women to 98% among American Indian/Alaskan Native women,” while declines in cervical cancer screening “varied from 82% among Black women to 92% among Asian Pacific Islander women,” according to the CDC’s findings.

Screenings started picking up again by June 2020. It’s currently unclear how severely missed cancer screenings will impact public health.

SurvivorNet canvassed major cancer centers across the United States, and our reporting shows that advanced stage cancer diagnoses have increased because of delays in screening.

"We certainly are seeing an increased number of later-staged cancer diagnoses, which have been delayed because of the pandemic," Dr. Robert Figlin, deputy director of the Samuel Oschin Comprehensive Cancer Institute at Cedars Sinai Medical Center, told SurvivorNet.

Related: Cancer Screenings Dropped a Whopping 95% During the COVID Pandemic, National Cancer Institute Director Says; Why Cancer Screenings are Critical

How To Get Back On Track

If you have skipped or delayed your mammogram or pap test, which is used to detect cervical cancer, now is the time to pick up the phone and make that appointment. It is definitely worth calling around if there are still delays in wait times, as there is bound to be a facility that can get you in sooner. Be persistent. Ask to be placed on your doctor’s cancellation list or check back periodically in case more availability opens. Typically, doctors have some appointments reserved for emergencies, so if you feel a lump, make sure to speak up to get accommodated more quickly.

Nicole Gazza from San Diego tells SurvivorNet that during the height of the pandemic she made sure to tell the medical office receptionist that she was high risk when she called to make an appointment. Her mom and sister both had breast cancer.

“To get an appointment was months out, so I kinda fibbed to get seen much sooner,” Gazza says. “I said I felt something. Which I did but my tissue is hard to begin with…so not a lie. Family history didn't get me a bumped up appointment, so I had to call back. When it is your life you gotta do what you gotta do. We must take control of our own lives. Can't stress that enough. Saddens me that people were forced to wait so long.”

Cancer survivor Vanessa Sullivan, 34, from the Chicago suburbs tells SurvivorNet that she almost skipped her pap smear due to the pandemic. "And thank God I didn't. That's when I was diagnosed with cervical cancer," she says. "Had my hysterectomy during the pandemic craziness." Luckily, Sullivan caught it in time and is now all clear.

Related: Are Swollen Lymph Nodes After a COVID-19 Vaccine Dangerous? Absolutely Not

Remember, cancer hasn't gone away just because we’ve been going through a pandemic.

Prevention works. So mask up, and get in and get checked.

It's Important To Continue Cancer Screenings Through COVID-19

 

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