Cancer screens drop thanks to pandemic, putting women at risk: CDC

The number of patients seeking cancer tests has fallen for the first time in five years, according to new data from the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC).

Based on data from the CDC’s National Breast and Cervical Cancer Early Detection Program, appointments fell 87% for breast cancer screenings, and breast cancer screening tests. cervix fell 84% in April 2020, at the start of the COVID-19 pandemic.

With the simultaneous decline in screenings and the rise in COVID-19 infections, CDC officials are connecting the two public health trends.

Health officials warn that prolonged delays in cancer screenings can lead to delays in diagnoses, impacting treatments and health outcomes.

These delays can also have a disproportionate impact on those already grappling with disparities in the health care system – people of color.

“This study highlights a decline in cancer screening among low-income women from racial and ethnic minority groups when their access to medical services declined early in the pandemic,” said Amy DeGroff, CDC health scientist and principal author. “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.”

Statistically, 1 in 8 women will develop a type of invasive breast cancer during their lifetime. Black women are more likely to develop and die from breast cancer than their white counterparts.

The study was published in the Preventive Medicine journal.