Pink Up: Sharp decline in mammograms due to COVID-19 pandemic

PINE BELT, Miss. (WDAM) - The COVID-19 Pandemic has changed nearly every aspect of our lives. Since the pandemic started, we’ve taken multiple steps to stay safe wearing masks and staying at home. While those measures may have kept you safe from COVID, they had other unintended consequences that could put women’s health in jeopardy.

According to a study published in the Preventive Medicine journal, there was an 87% drop in Breast Cancer Screenings during April 2020 when the pandemic was at its peak. That large drop has some physicians worried.

”Well, what we saw this past year was a significant drop in screening mammograms and screenings across the board. That is very concerning because that means we’ll have more breast cancer, cervical cancers, colon cancers that are going undetected for longer. Which puts them in a more untreatable category,” says Merit Health Wesley Radiologist Dr. Thomas Cole, M.D.

The recommendation to stay at home and the fear of contracting COVID-19 likely deterred individuals from seeking health care services, including preventative cancer screenings.

”It’s rightfully so. They were concerned. We didn’t have the vaccine or any method for accurate treatment,” says Cole.

The good news is that it’s never too late to get caught up on any screenings you may have put off because of the pandemic.

”And we can get back on track. We can get back on track. People can come in and get their mammograms. We take all due precautions,” says Cole.

Because an ounce of prevention is worth a pound of cure.

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