An early side effect of the COVID-19 lockdowns was demonstrated in a 46.6% drop in lung, breast, pancreatic, gastric, esophageal and colorectal cancer diagnoses from the beginning of March to mid-April. Not only that, cardiac catheterizations as well as treatment for heart attacks dropped.
Researchers looking at the cancer numbers attributed less testing to fewer diagnoses, and stressed that fewer diagnoses didn’t mean that cancer had equally diminished.
In the U.K., health officials reported that a 75% decrease in referrals had resulted in similar findings. Forbes said that the missed diagnoses may show up as an increase in cancer deaths by 33% in the U.S. alone.
SOURCES:
Forbes August 4, 2020
JAMA Network August 4, 2020