Should you schedule a mammogram screening during covid?

Aarp

Should you schedule a mammogram screening during covid?"


Play all audios:

Loading...

For almost 20 years, Karen Syring never missed her annual mammogram. A longtime public-school teacher, Syring usually got her scan when a mobile mammography bus visited the school where she


worked. But Syring, 66, of Woodlands, Texas, retired last year. Without the bus to remind her, she inadvertently skipped her annual screening. When she realized her lapse many months later,


last summer, the COVID-19 pandemic was well underway. But after talking with her doctor, Syring scheduled her mammogram, anyway. She's sure glad she did, since the test revealed


evidence of early-stage breast cancer. “I keep thinking, _What would have happened if I had waited longer?_ It probably would have been much worse,” Syring says. “I'm so grateful I went


and did it.” Stories like Syring's underscore an important message that physicians and cancer advocates are emphasizing as the pandemic continues: Don't let the coronavirus stop


you from getting mammograms, colonoscopies and other screenings essential to good health. "Cancer doesn't stop, even during a global pandemic,” notes Therese Bevers, M.D., medical


director at MD Anderson's Cancer Prevention Center. “I think it's important for women to understand that you are probably more likely to die from a breast cancer diagnosed at a


more advanced stage than you are from COVID-19.” DELAYED DIAGNOSES WILL RESULT IN MORE DEATHS Millions of Americans have missed recommended screenings during COVID-19 closures. In March, the


first month of the shutdown, a study of 190 hospitals found that screenings for breast, colon and cervical cancers decreased by as much as 94 percent. Another study, published in the


journal _Oncology_ in August, revealed a 46 percent decline in the number of new cancers diagnosed between March and April. The National Cancer Institute estimates that delayed diagnoses due


to the pandemic could result in 10,000 additional deaths from breast and colorectal cancers in the next 10 years. Even though medical offices are now open, some patients are still reluctant


to come in for screenings, says Carol Lee, M.D., staff radiologist at Memorial Sloan Kettering Cancer Center in New York City. "Some people are saying, ‘I'm already six months


late, so I might as well skip this year,’ “ she says. “That's a bad idea because the earlier you pick up cancer, the more likely it is that it can be treated successfully. And it's


such a treatable disease if you catch it early.” SAFETY PRECAUTIONS IN PLACE AT MEDICAL CENTERS Lee and Bevers emphasize that health care facilities are taking steps to keep patients safe,


such as sterilizing equipment between clients, requiring patients and staff to fill out a health questionnaire daily, and enforcing the use of masks.


Trending News

Farming's future: benn bites back - farmers weekly

IN _FARMERS WEEKLY_ ON 16 OCTOBER, COLUMNIST STEPHEN CARR CHALLENGED HILARY BENN’S VISION FOR THE FUTURE OF ENGLISH FARM...

Doug Hoverson - WPR

Doug Hoverson Doug Hoverson is author of the book, The Drink That Made Wisconsin Famous. He also wrote the book, Land of...

Trump donor gave $2m to groups questioning climate science

The Mercer family, a major donor to the Trump administration and alt-right media, has been expanding its donations to a ...

Ultralow-pressure-driven polarization switching in ferroelectric membranes

ABSTRACT Van der Waals integration of freestanding perovskite-oxide membranes with two-dimensional semiconductors has em...

Black man wins $13 million in lawsuit after 13 years of false imprisonment

by MAKKADA B. SELAH March 11, 2013 ------------------------- An Ohio African-American man who was cleared of murder afte...

Latests News

Should you schedule a mammogram screening during covid?

For almost 20 years, Karen Syring never missed her annual mammogram. A longtime public-school teacher, Syring usually go...

Thanks for visiting !

The use of software that blocks ads hinders our ability to serve you the content you came here to enjoy.We ask that you ...

'connecting and engaging:' event helps clergy, community groups better serve veterans | va milwaukee health care | veterans affairs

Breaking down walls and building relationships. Those were the goals of the first Clergy and Community Symposium that to...

Targeting myc-driven translation

Access through your institution Buy or subscribe Overactivity of the transcription factor MYC plays a central part in th...

Temporary disability rating after surgery or cast | veterans affairs

If you’re recovering from surgery or a disability related to your military service that’s left you unable to move, you m...

Top