Screenings have resumed, but long-term effects of delays are unknown.
Regular breast cancer screenings save lives, but early in the pandemic, the American Cancer Society recommended that doctors postpone any breast cancer screenings or intervention to protect at-risk patients from potential exposures or illness.care facility for routine cancer screening at this time," Dr. Richard Wender, chief cancer control officer for the ACS, said in a statement on April 29.
Dr. Paulomi Shroff, a board-certified breast surgeon in Marietta, Georgia, has experienced the impact of the shutdown on her patients firsthand. In this July 31, 2012, file photo, a radiologist compares an image from earlier, 2-D technology mammogram to the new 3-D Digital Breast Tomosynthesis mammography.Stopping mammograms did not just affect the women with breast lumps. Shroff said that it also affected women scheduling their yearly mammograms to screen for breast cancer.
While patients waited for surgery, some who had certain types of cancer could be prescribed medications that would help keep their cancer from worsening.Once elective surgeries were resumed, the pandemic had an impact on the decisions women made for having their breast cancers removed. In an effort to conserve hospital beds and to avoid overnight hospital stays, many patients and surgeons opted for less-invasive surgeries.
Even for patients without cancer, but with a high-risk change in their breast tissue called atypia, the pandemic caused problems. Shroff told ABC News that she had one patient with atypia who had to wait three months for surgery. By the time she had her surgery, it had progressed into cancer. In addition to recommendations for virtual visits, streamlined in-person visits, masks, screening and preoperative testing, the guidelines prioritize patients' cancer care based on their individual risk of breast cancer progression or of serious illness should they contract COVID-19. Dietz said,"All of those factors are playing a role."In terms of resuming mammograms, Dr.
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