Coronavirus (COVID‑19)

For a variety of reasons, COVID-19 has caused far too many people to skip treatments and miss routine cancer screenings. And while delaying scans and treatments may have felt like the most prudent action at the start of the pandemic, evidence is gathering that a few years from now, we may look back and wish we had taken a different approach. Consider that:

• The National Cancer Institute calls annual screening one of the most effective ways to prevent cancer or detect it early, when "it may be easier to treat or cure."
• A recent IQVIA Institute for Human Data Science report estimated that delays in 22 million cancer screening tests to date could increase the risk of delayed or missed diagnoses for 80,000 Americans.
• Throughout the course of the pandemic, a number of cancer patients reported interruptions or difficulty accessing timely treatments.

As steps are being taken to "flatten the COVID-19 curve," CTCA^® and other industry experts fear that these developments will lead to a “shadow curve,” or a spike in missed and advanced-stage cancer diagnoses. Here are three actions everyone can take to help avoid this impending crisis:

• Schedule your treatment or screening immediately.
• If the first facility you call can’t accommodate you, try another one. You have choices.
• Advocate for access. Talk to your insurance provider about your in-network and out-of-network options.