Different cancers shall be recognized at a later date

The online survey was conducted from January 15 to February 7, 2021.

“We have certainly seen people late for radiation therapy because of concerns about COVID,” said Dr. Karen Winkfield, executive director of the Meharry-Vanderbilt Alliance in Nashville, Tennessee, at the press conference. “But we’ve done an excellent job in radiation oncology departments across the country making sure our patients and staff are safe.”

Patients are also returning to cancer screening, added Winkfield.

Shelley Fuld Nasso, executive director of the National Coalition for Cancer Survival in Silver Spring, Md., Said that while telemedicine has proven important, many patients lack access or the ability to use the technology they need.

For many patients, telemedicine creates a feeling that necessary emotional support has been lost, along with a feeling of isolation and limited access to the cancer care team, Nasso said.

“We’ve heard from patients that they want access to the whole team, not just the person they might see in telemedicine,” she said.

Nasso also mentioned two patients whose doctors initially passed off their cancer as something else.

“”[These patients] had to be lawyers to get their diagnosis – none of their cancers would have been detected through screening – but they knew the symptoms they were feeling were incorrect and they sought treatment despite facing delays in diagnosis were “she said.

Not everyone is ready or able to stand up for themselves, added Nasso.

“We need to make sure the system works for everyone, regardless of their health literacy or ability to stand up for themselves,” she said.

The pandemic unemployment and the resulting loss of health insurance have, according to Dr. Laura Makaroff, senior vice president of prevention and early detection for the American Cancer Society, also affected cancer prevention and diagnosis.

But Makaroff predicted that as Americans became more vaccinated, there would be an increase in screening and cancer diagnoses.

“People will be more comfortable entering health care, but I think we as a nation also need to recognize that we need to work to break down those barriers so that patients can safely access care and the risk of delaying it Understanding care. ” or the delay in screening is far greater than the risk of possible COVID exposure, “Makaroff said.