September 2021 Newsletter

Cancer Screenings in the
Time of COVID

A new blog post by Phil Reichner

On January 20, 2020, a Washington state resident became the first confirmed case of COVID-19 in the United States. Less than two weeks later, the U.S. declared a national emergency concerning the virus. Cases of the coronavirus continued to rise throughout the United States and the world through the next few months. The first sharp rise of cases in the U.S. occurred between June 9, 2020, and July 20, 2020. During this time, this country experienced a 300% increase in cases.

At this time, most hospitals across the country began to free up resources to deal with the influx of COVID-19 patients. One of the means that they opened up resources was by canceling elective procedures at the hospitals. While this may make sense on the surface, who needs a nose job in the middle of a global pandemic? Many of the general public did not know that included in these elective procedures were routine cancer screenings. Simultaneously, local and state governments began instituting stay-at-home orders, further restricting access to the doctor's offices and other medical facilities.

American Cancer Society's Recommendations for Breast Cancer Screenings

These guidelines are for women at average risk for breast cancer. For screening purposes, a woman is considered to be at average risk if she doesn’t have a personal history of breast cancer, a strong family history of breast cancer, or a genetic mutation known to increase risk of breast cancer (such as in a BRCA gene), and has not had chest radiation therapy before the age of 30.

Women between 40 and 44 have the option to start screening with a mammogram every year.

Women between 45 and 54 should get mammograms every year.

Women 55 and older can switch to a mammogram every other year, or they can choose to continue yearly mammograms. Screening should continue as long as a woman is in good health and is expected to live at least 10 more years.

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