ACS urges patients to schedule cancer screenings

Editor's Note

The American College of Surgeons Commission on Cancer (ACS CoC) on March 18 announced it has joined a nationwide effort to encourage patients to resume cancer screenings, to prevent more extensive illness or excess deaths.

The ACS CoC is urging people to talk with their healthcare providers about resuming regular primary care checkups and recommended screenings. These discussions can lessen the negative impact the pandemic is having on identifying and treating people with cancer, the ACS CoC says.

During the COVID-19 pandemic, healthcare resources were redirected to prevent the spread of the virus, and elective medical and surgical procedures, including cancer screenings, were put on hold.

The impact was immediate as screening procedures dropped drastically, with estimates of 35% of American missing routine cancer screening procedures.

The American Cancer Society foresees that pandemic-related reductions in healthcare access and screenings will result in a short-term drop in cancer diagnoses and a later corresponding increase in late-stage diagnoses and preventable deaths.