The total number of cancer screenings for women declined over 80% in April 2020 compared to the previous five Aprils. That’s according to the Centers for Disease Control (CDC).
The CDC says the prolonged delays in screenings for breast and cervical cancer related to the Covid-19 pandemic may lead to delayed diagnoses and poorer outcomes.
This negative impact is likely to be more pronounced among women already experiencing “health inequities,” says the CDC.
This study highlights a decline in cancer screening among women of racial and ethnic minority groups with low incomes when their access to medical services decreased at the beginning of the pandemic
Amy DeGroff, PhD, MPH, CDC health scientist and lead author of Covid-19 impact on screenings study
It’s unclear why the lowest income women appear to be least likely to get regular cancer screenings since the poor receive free health care, and in general, routine female-related screenings are of no additional cost beyond the premium for those who are insured.
Click the link below to read the CDC press release:
https://www.cdc.gov/media/releases/2021/p0630-cancer-screenings.html
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This ties in with what I experienced and it ties in with your recent podcast about mammogram screenings. My screening mammogram was postponed from October 2020 to January 6th, 2021 (the Democrat’s Day of Infamy….that they have been promoting so hard). I am older (65) with dense breasts, childless, with a history of post-menopausal breast cancer running in my family. I go in for the annual screenings. I was called back and proceeded to a diagnostic mammogram and ultrasound as there was a “pucker” identified on my right breast. That was followed by several Core Biopsies and an MRI. All came back benign…but ADH cells were identified in a duct and where there are ADH cells, I was told, there would be a strong chance of cancer cells. I was informed that ADH cells may never develop into cancer, but there is a risk they might. As a result, they recommended a surgical excision. It was not pushed, but recommended. I decided to have the surgery and the pathology took awhile to come back this time. I called asking as the results were taking longer than expected. They breast surgeon called me back to let me know that the pathology showed two very small foci (spots) of cancer contained inside the duct. The surgeon did not take out the recommended margin around the area due to not knowing that DCIS would be found. Since, the spots were so small and a solid, Grade 2 cancer they were meeting to see if a second surgery was needed to widen the margins. It was recommended that it be done and I followed through with it. It was strongly advised that I follow up with radiation and meet with a Radiologist Oncologist and a regular Oncologist (cancer preventing medications). I met with the Radiologist Oncologist and asked why radiation was necessary. My father, Aunt and Uncle all died from radiation complications after treatments for acne in the 1940’s at Michael Reese…..40+ years after the radiation treatments. The Radiologist told me that the reason that the radiation treatments were being recommended was because it was noticed that a higher percentage than they found acceptable in cases of DCIS surgery excision only cases that there was a recurrence of breast cancer. It was further explained to me is due to cancer cells to small to be picked up under the microscope in the “bed” around the area containing the DCIS. In an abundance of caution I agreed. Based on the extreme radiation my relatives went under at Michael Reese and how long they survived….I figured I would be about 105 when radiation issues might show up. Michael Reese use of radiation was much more powerful and longer….and not as targeted. My breast was “mapped”. I just completed 16 radiation sessions. I have not intention of taking any preventative cancer medications as the side effects would not be worth the risk….the bang for my buck is far too small and the percentages that are reeled off to me about the various medications effectiveness are relative and not actual numbers that reflect my age group, tumor size, tumor grade, and ethnicity. Pass on that. Here is the other important think I learned. If I had my screening during the regular October 2020 time frame instead of having it pushed back to January 6th, 2021 due to the PANDEMIC….the cancer most likely would not have been picked up at that time.
In Michigan, all mammograms were canceled for a year (?). My appointment was canceled and I called numerous times to reschedule and was told due to Covid they weren’t allowed by law to perform routine procedures. I explained I had dense tissue and required additional testing and they said no.
Screenings and tests are how the medical industry (and it is an industry) makes its money. We have been taught to fear our bodies. Most people have no idea how to listen to their bodies or how to enhance their health. The idea that “catching cancer early” somehow reduces cancer deaths is illogical–there is no way to know if the “early cancer” detected would have resolved of its own accord once the person starts cutting and burning and chemo-ing “it out”. This is not crazy talk–we live in a polluted world–we ALL have cancer cells at one point in time or another. The question is, do we do things that support our health, or do we live in a manner in which we contribute to our own demise? It is one thing to be feeling unwell and go for testing and another to have perfectly healthy women smashing their breasts and dousing them with radiation yearly. Talk about unnatural…let’s hope we DO NOT see an increase in cancer cases, but rather a decrease because the body is left alone.