More Canadians are at risk of being diagnosed with cancer in later stages because of the screening backlogs that accumulated during the pandemic. Some health professionals are already noticing the effects in the field.
It all started with stomach ache. At least that’s what Cheryl-Anne Labrador-Summers thought. It was October 2020, shortly after moving to a quiet lakeside community in Georgina, Ontario.
The mother of three had unexplained abdominal pain. He then tried to visit his family doctor, but the office was closed due to the pandemic. So he looked for another clinic.
However, he received nothing but a phone appointment rather than a personal assessment. He was finally told that his cramps were most likely caused by a mild gastrointestinal illness.
In January, the 58-year-old woman had a swollen stomach, as if she were about nine months pregnant, in his own words. Again, he contacted a doctor, got tested, and then went to the nearest emergency department.
After seeing a doctor in person for the first time in months, she finally found out the real cause of her discomfort: intestinal blockage caused by cancer.
” It turned out to be a nine -centimeter tumor, and it completely blocked my lower intestine. “
Chery-Anne Labrador-Summers underwent emergency surgery. She received 55 staples in her abdomen and recovered several months before she could start oral chemotherapy.
Could this test have been avoided, or at least reduced, by earlier testing? This was the question he now asked himself, without getting an answer.
If I could have seen the doctors earlier I would not have reached stage 3, I am already in stage 2.he believes.
951,000 fewer cancer screenings in Ontario
More Canadians could be diagnosed with late-stage cancer in the coming years, medical experts warn. They predict the impending crisis due to pandemic.
We expect to see more advanced stages of cancer in the next two years, as well as effects on cancer treatments.said oncologist Dr. Timothy Hanna, a clinician scientist at Queen’s University Cancer Research Institute in Kingston.
” We know that time is running out for people with cancer. When people wait for a diagnosis or treatment, it creates an increased risk of the advanced stage and leads to a lower chance of survival. “
A review of breast, lung, colon and cervical cancer screening programs in Ontario showed that by 2020 there will be 41% fewer screening tests compared to last year. This represents over 951,000 fewer trials.
Dr. Anna N. Wilkinson, assistant professor in the Department of Family Medicine at the University of Ottawa wrote in an article in May for the Canadian Family Physician journal that the decrease in these screenings has translated into fewer invasive cancer diagnoses, including the approximately 1400 to 1500 breast cancers.
COVID-19 has a significant impact on cancer screening: screening backlogs, delayed diagnosis in symptomatic patients and abnormal screening results and delays in cancer treatment and research. All exacerbated by patients ’apprehension of being seen in person.
Health care is difficult to access timely
Slowing down colonoscopies could lead to more severe cases of colorectal cancer in Ontario, suggests an article published in the Journal of the Canadian Association of Gastroenterology.
Patients treated after the onset of the COVID-19 pandemic were more likely to go to the hospital immediately. This means they are more likely to have a perforation of the intestine or severe intestinal obstruction, requiring immediate life -saving surgery.explanation of the lead author of the study, Dr. Catherine Forse.
Doctors have also found that patients are more likely to have large tumors. Often, these revelations occur in hospital emergency departments rather than ordinary medical services, such as family doctors.
Dr. said. Lisa Salamon, an emergency physician at the Scarborough Health Network in Toronto, said she has also given diagnoses of serious cancers to several patients, including some in recent months.
” Today we see cancers that are already in the stage of metastasis. “
Lessons for future pandemics
Health policy expert Laura Greer is battling metastatic breast cancer. She had to wait more than five months for a regular mammogram that was originally scheduled for her to do in the spring of 2021. It was a precautionary measure because her mother also had breast cancer.
Unlike an early stage of diagnosis, Laura Greer’s cancer is only treatable, not curable. ‘This is an example of what happens when you don’t have regular screenings or health visitssaid the mother of two children.
” I probably would have had an early stage of cancer if seen earlier. “
He hopes policymakers will consider this in the coming pandemics. We need to make sure we have enough capacity in our health care system to adapthe says.
For Cheryl-Anne Labrador-Summers, it’s hard to forget the moment her life changed. It was in an emergency department, when a doctor told him he had seen his diagnosis. She remembers thinking about the future and her family.
My eldest just told us he had a child and I just wanted to be there for them. I don’t know what the next steps are. My mother and I died of cancer a few years ago, for us cancer is still terminal.he recalled.
Postoperative examination and chemotherapy treatment revealed more cancer. Deadly nowhe finished, with tears in his eyes.
Source: Radio-Canada
