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Cancer diagnoses have decreased since the COVID-19 pandemic began, according to a recent study in JAMA.
"We can speculate that putting off routine screening tests means early cancers are not being detected," says Dr. Nabil Wasif, a Mayo Clinic surgical oncologist. He says this suggests that patients will eventually show up but with more advanced cancer.
Routine screenings are recommended for breast, cervical and colon cancer, as well as lung cancer if the patient is a smoker.
On the Mayo Clinic Q&A podcast, Dr. Wasif, says patients are taking a risk by delaying screening.
Information in this post was accurate at the time of its posting. Due to the fluid nature of the COVID-19 pandemic, scientific understanding, along with guidelines and recommendations, may have changed since the original publication date.
Check the CDC website for additional updates on COVID-19. For more information and all your COVID-19 coverage, go to the Mayo Clinic News Network and mayoclinic.org.
