Pandemic causes delays in cancer screening and treatment
Since the start of the COVID-19 pandemic, cancer screening and treatment have been impacted in the Maritimes and across Canada.
Now, as operations return to pre-pandemic levels of efficiency, there are still concerns about cancer patients receiving proper care.
Some are worried about the long-term impacts of possibly missing early cancer detection because of COVID-19.
"At its highest peak, 47 per cent of Canadians were reporting some disruptions to their cancer care,” said Kelly Wilson Cull, who is the Advocacy Director for the Canadian Cancer Society.
Disruptions include delays in cancer appointments and surgeries. The Nova Scotia Health Authority suspended some cancer screening programs in the spring of 2020.
"We have three in our provinces,” said Wilson Cull. “Breast, cervical and colorectal programs that were all on pause, as they were throughout the country."
The question remains, how will cancer diagnosis be impacted by these delays?
"We, of course, know that in the case of cancer when it is caught at an early stage it is most reatable,” said Wilson Cull.
Delays in screening and treatments have added a tremendous burden for patients.
"For people who are unable to get those detection tests done, it can be very stressful and impactful," said Michelle Donaldson from the Lung Association of Nova Scotia.
In an email to CTV, the Nova Scotia Health Authority said the situation is improving.
“Colon cancer screening, using the home screening test is once again operating at pre-pandemic levels," it reads.
"The lab completed nearly 6,000 tests in September. Pap test providers have resumed performing pap tests to screen for cervical cancer and we are not aware of any delays in processing the tests.”
The IWK Health Centre told CTV in an email that, "breast screening sites in the province are back to the highest capacity they can achieve while still following public health measures which is around 90 per cent of pre-pandemic volumes provincially."
"We are now booking all available appointments and are back to pre-pandemic wait times again at most sites. We are encouraged by the number of women returning for breast screening," it reads.
Going forward, Wilson Cull said the best way to support cancer patients is to put an end to the pandemic.
"Do all the things we know we should be doing," said Wilson Cull. "Like wearing a mask, physical distancing and getting vaccinated."
Wilson Cull said these actions would help speed up cancer screening and treatment.
CTVNews.ca Top Stories
BREAKING Average hourly wage in Canada now $34.95: StatCan
Average hourly wages among Canadian employees rose to $34.95 on a year-over-year basis in April, a 4.7 per cent increase, according to a Statistics Canada report released Friday morning.
From outer space? Sask. farmers baffled after discovering strange wreckage in field
A family of fifth generation farmers from Ituna, Sask. are trying to find answers after discovering several strange objects lying on their land.
This iconic Canadian song is turning 50
Andy Kim's 'Rock Me Gently' is marking a major milestone, as it celebrates its 50th anniversary.
Oprah Winfrey: I set an unrealistic standard for dieting
Oprah Winfrey said on Thursday evening that she has long played a role in promoting unhealthy and unrealistic diets.
Ontario family receives massive hospital bill as part of LTC law, refuses to pay
A southwestern Ontario woman has received an $8,400 bill from a hospital in Windsor, Ont., after she refused to put her mother in a nursing home she hated -- and she says she has no intention of paying it.
Toronto police called to Drake's Bridle Path mansion for another alleged intruder on Thursday
Toronto police say a man who allegedly attempted to access Drake’s Bridle Path property was taken to hospital on Thursday after an altercation with security guards.
Flat tire on a highway? Here's why you shouldn't try to fix it
If you're cruising down a highway and realize you have a flat tire, you may want to think twice before stopping to fix it on the side of the road.
Storm-battered U.S. South is again under threat. A boy swept into a drain fights for his life
Dangerous storms crashed over parts of the U.S. South on Thursday even as the region cleaned up from earlier severe weather that spawned tornadoes, killed at least three people, and gravely injured a boy who was swept into a storm drain as he played in a flooded street.
Broadcaster and commentator Rex Murphy dead at 77: National Post
The National Post is reporting that Rex Murphy, the pundit and columnist who hosted a national call-in radio show for decades, has died.