Breast Cancer Screenings Should Not Be Delayed Due to COVID-19

10/4/2021

Early detection and treatment supports the best possible outcomes

MILTON, Fla. – Breast cancer and other medical illnesses remain a risk for women - even amid the COVID-19 pandemic. Unfortunately, due to concerns about the virus, many women have postponed their annual screening mammograms, increasing their risk of undetected cancer. Santa Rosa Medical Center is encouraging women who may have delayed their mammograms to schedule the screening now because when breast cancer is detected early, life-saving treatment can begin right away.

“When screenings are delayed, diagnosis is delayed, and treatment is delayed,” said Lisa Tucker, M.D., a board-certified Obstetrician-gynecologist with Santa Rosa Medical Group. “But the best chance for survival of any cancer is early diagnosis and treatment. Women should not be afraid to get a mammogram. Many stringent safety precautions have been put in place in our imaging center to protect everyone from COVID-19, so as a doctor, I’m telling you - if you’ve put off a mammogram, don’t put it off any longer.”

Early Detection Saves Lives
Nearly all breast cancers can be treated successfully if found early. The most effective way to detect breast cancer at an early, treatable stage is to have yearly mammograms. Since mammography became widely used in the 1980s, the U.S. breast cancer death rate in women has dropped 43 percent.

Here in Florida, 17,823 new female breast cancer cases were reported in 2018, the most recent year data is available.

The American College of Radiology (ACR) and Society of Breast Imaging (SBI) recommends that all women, particularly African American and those of Ashkenazi Jewish descent, should have a risk assessment at age 30 to see if a screening earlier than age 40 is needed. Women who were previously diagnosed with breast cancer are recommended to be screened with magnetic resonance imaging (MRI).

For women of average risk, the ACR and SBI recommend annual mammograms starting at age 40. Different guidelines apply to women at higher risk. A screening mammogram can help detect breast cancer in its earliest and most treatable stages.

Safety Measures to Protect Against COVID-19
For the protection of patients and staff, Santa Rosa Medical Center is pre-screening all patients for any COVID-19 symptoms, limiting appointments to maintain social distancing, requiring staff and patients all wear masks, and cleaning commonly touched surfaces with greater frequency.

To find a primary care doctor or OB/GYN, visit the “Find a Doctor” link on srmcfl.com. Mammograms can be scheduled by calling (850) 626-5130. SRMC is an American College of Radiology Accredited Mammography Facility.

Sources:
U.S. Cancer Statistics Working Group. U.S. Cancer Statistics Data Visualizations Tool, based on 2020 submission data (1999-2018): U.S. Department of Health and Human Services, Centers for Disease Control and Prevention and National Cancer Institute; www.cdc.gov/cancer/dataviz, released in June 2021.
Journal of the American College of Radiology 2018;15:408-414; Monticciolo et al, Breast Cancer Screening in Women at Higher-Than-Average-Risk: Recommendations from the ACR; https://www.jacr.org/article/S1546-1440(17)31524-7/pdf?_ga=2.93193812.894670593.1599667007-958177338.1599667007

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