Routine screenings for cancer were down as much as 94% compared to the previous average.1
Delaying your cancer screening? While it‘s true you should postpone any clinic visits you can to conserve health system resources and reduce patient contact during COVID-19,2 be cautious. Self-exams and physical vigilance may work for the time-being, but the high potential risk of delays is the diagnosis of a more-advanced cancer. To ensure you still critically detect cancer early, it’s crucial to understand which screenings you should—or shouldn‘t—postpone.
Survivor who has completed treatment and now shown symptoms
Low-risk patient taking hormonal or oral chemotherapy
Ask yourself, does your risk of developing cancer outweigh your chances of getting COVID-19? If you’re healthy with no symptoms and no risk factors, you can likely defer elective screenings such as mammograms and colonoscopies.2
At-home colon cancer tests – the fecal occult blood test and the fecal DNA test that collect a stool sample to be sent to a lab
Skin cancer self-exams – monthly checks conducted by you of easy-to-see places and a family member or friend for harder-to-view sites such as your scalp, back, and backsides of the ears
New skin lesions that grow in size or don’t disappear, changes to existing lesions, or a severe rash—these may be signs of skin cancer
A new lump or mass in your breast, bloody discharge from the nipple, or changes in breast skin such as redness—these could be signs of breast cancer
Changes in bowel habits, including blood in the stool—this may be a symptom of colon cancer
A new or increasing cough, shortness of breath, or excessive fatigue—these are possible symptoms of lung cancer
Received a diagnosis or developed a condition that may increase your risk for cancer, such as myelodysplastic syndrome, inflammatory bowel disease, or polyps
Determined any family history of cancers
Found a known genetic mutation
Received an abnormal screening in the past
Last updated February 18, 2021
References
1 Printz C. Cancer screenings decline significantly during pandemic. Cancer. 2020;126(17):3894-3895.
2 Uzzo RG, Kutikov A, Geynisman DM. Coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19): Cancer screening, diagnosis, treatment, and posttreatment surveillance in uninfected patients during the pandemic. UpToDate. 2020.