Tribune Publishing
Mar. 25—Local physicians said they are seeing patients being diagnosed with cancer at later stages in a sign that some cases were missed in a disrupted pandemic year.
Elective procedures, including preventative screenings for common cancers like breast, colon and lung cancers, were suspended in Ohio early in the pandemic in an effort to conserve personal protective equipment.
“We actually closed down our breast centers for about six weeks for for screening exams, based on the mandate from the governor,” said Dr. Meghan Musser with the Kettering Breast Evaluation Center. “So that put off thousands of mammograms for women that we attempted to reschedule throughout the rest of 2020.”
But coupled with fear from patients about potential exposure to COVID, Musser said that led to an additional level of delay for patients to come in.
“There’s a segment of the population that is really just still trying to stay away from us,” said Dr. James Ouellette, surgical oncologist with Premier Surgical Oncology and physician lead for the oncology service line for Premier Health.
As vaccination distribution spreads, Ouellette said that will help things continue to improve.
One national analysis published in July 2020 indicated preventative screenings had plummeted.
Epic Health Research Network found 285,000 breast cancer screenings, 95,000 colon cancer screenings and 40,000 cervical screenings were missed between March 15 and June 16, which represent deficits of 63%, 64%, and 67% relative to screenings expected based on the historical average.
Data for the study was pooled from 60 organizations and 9.8 million patients.
“Even in the summer and fall, I felt like we were seeing more advanced cancers show up,” Ouellette said.
He said some of the problem was also fear leading people with cancer delaying hospitalization until there was no other option.
Some people associate elective procedures with things like cosmetic surgeries, Ouellette said, but that term also includes cancer screenings, which are still important for a person’s health.
“Public understanding and the health care understanding of words like elective didn’t match. I think it took us a little bit of time to to really realize that, and I don’t know if we’ve corrected all that communication,” he said.
Generally breast cancer screenings are recommended for women ages 40 and older, though some women may qualify for earlier screenings.
Musser said that the hospital’s centers have taken many steps to keep centers as safe as possible during the pandemic and people are welcome to call with questions if they aren’t sure about coming in.
“The appointments are only 15 minutes, we get you in and out of our breast center as quickly as possible,” Musser said.