Pandemic Brought Big Drop in Breast Cancer Screenings

TUESDAY, Aug. 31, 2021 (HealthDay News) -- Many parts of the United States saw a important driblet successful breast cancer screening of older low-income women during the COVID-19 pandemic, caller probe shows.

The investigation of information from 32 assemblage wellness centers that service low-income radical recovered that bosom crab screening for 50- to 74-year-old women dropped 8% betwixt July 2019 and July 2020. That wiped retired an 18% summation betwixt July 2018 and July 2019.

"This survey is important due to the fact that these populations person long-standing barriers to accessing care, little bosom screening rates, higher bosom crab [death] rates, and are particularly susceptible to wellness attraction disruptions," said survey person Stacey Fedewa of the American Cancer Society.

If the 2018 to 2019 inclination had continued done 2020, astir 63% of women would person been screened for bosom crab successful 2020 alternatively of the astir 50% of women who really were, the survey found.

The diminution successful screening means the 32 centers had perchance 47,517 less mammograms and 242 missed bosom crab diagnoses, according to findings published Aug. 26 successful the diary Cancer.

The researchers noted that clinics successful the survey were portion of an American Cancer Society assistance to amended bosom crab screening rates. It's unclear however the pandemic affected screening services successful assemblage wellness centers nationwide.

Programs that were introduced earlier and continued done 2020 whitethorn person reduced the pandemic's effects connected bosom crab screening services, the survey authors suggested.

Declining screening rates successful clinics serving lower-income areas with barriers to wellness attraction entree and higher bosom crab decease rates underscore the request for further resources to place women successful request of screening, the squad noted successful a diary quality release.

"These actions volition beryllium captious arsenic communities and clinics instrumentality to screening with hopes of reaching pre-pandemic bosom crab screening rates successful the communities they serve," Fedewa and colleagues concluded.

More information

The U.S. National Cancer Institute has much connected breast crab screening.

SOURCE: Cancer, quality release, Aug. 26, 2021