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One million women have missed breast cancer screenings as a result of the lockdown.
The huge delay means the deadly disease may have gone unnoticed in about 8,600 of them.
The Breast Cancer Now charity estimates that 986,000 patients are waiting for life-saving mammograms because screening was stopped when the pandemic struck.
Early diagnosis greatly improves the chances of survival, and doctors cautioned that the delays mean that young and otherwise healthy women will “die unnecessarily.”
One million women have missed breast cancer screenings as a result of the blockage. The huge delay means that the deadly disease may have gone undetected in about 8,600 of them. Library Image
The screening program, which prevents around 1,300 deaths and detects 19,000 cases a year, was suspended for four months in March.
Today’s shocking figures highlight the catastrophic impact of the pandemic on millions of patients with conditions other than Covid-19.
‘Mammography saved my life,’ says Karen King, mother of two
Going for a mammogram saved Karen King’s life.
Karen King, 49, says mammogram saved her life
The 49-year-old ‘thanks her lucky stars’ every day for the screening program, which caught her breast cancer last year before she had symptoms.
But the Southampton mother of two, pictured, now fears for the thousands of women potentially in her position.
“I’m really concerned about the delay for women waiting for routine mammograms caused by the pandemic,” she said.
‘I understand why the screening had to be canceled, but I know it will have caused a lot of concern to many women who may still be waiting for it to be rescheduled and I also have no idea if my annual mammogram will be affected when it expires in December.
‘I honestly believe that screening, and my surgeon, saved my life by finding my breast cancer when they did, as I had no symptoms. I’m so lucky that we have this show. ‘
The Daily Mail has highlighted official data showing that nearly 75,000 lives could be lost due to the unintended consequences of the lockdown, including delays in cancer treatment.
Pressure will mount on Boris Johnson to hold back in a second lockdown, and activists will emphasize that cancer care “cannot afford to pause again.”
Experts warned that the NHS had a “huge mountain to climb” to clear the backlog of projections.
Breast X-rays, which are an essential tool for detecting breast cancer early, are offered to women ages 50 to 71 every three years.
Although NHS screening has now resumed, many clinics have had to reduce the number of appointments due to social distancing and infection control.
The NHS is also facing a desperate shortage of diagnostic staff to perform screenings – a quarter of health trusts have vacant breast radiologist positions.
Baroness Delyth Morgan, Executive Director of Breast Cancer Now, said: “ The fact that nearly a million women across the UK were caught in the backlog waiting for a breast exam is of great concern as we know that about 8,600 of these women may have been living with undetected breast cancer.
“Mammograms are a key tool in the early detection of breast cancer, which is essential to prevent women from dying from the disease. We cannot allow the program to be paused again ”.
Every year around 55,000 cases of breast cancer are detected in the UK, leading to 11,500 deaths.
Nine out of ten women diagnosed at the earliest stage live at least five years, compared to just 15 percent of those diagnosed at the most advanced stage.
Between March and July, some 107,000 fewer women were referred to a specialist with suspected cases of breast cancer compared to the same period last year.
Hundreds of thousands of cancer patients have had vital scans, tests, surgery, chemotherapy, or radiation therapy delayed or canceled as a result of Covid-19.
Breast X-rays, which are an essential tool for detecting breast cancer early, are offered to women ages 50 to 71 every three years. Library Image
Some of these procedures would have saved or prolonged lives, giving cancer patients precious extra time.
Yesterday, leaked data obtained by the Health Service Journal revealed that more than 6,000 NHS patients have been waiting for more than 100 days after a referral to cancer services.
The number on the cancer waiting list increased from 50,000 in early August to around 58,000 in mid-September.
Mary Wilson, consultant breast radiologist and project leader of the National Breast Imaging Academy, said: ‘Not only maintaining pre-pandemic activity levels, but also catching up with inadequate workforce levels is a huge mountain to climb.’ . We desperately need more radiologists.
“A long-term investment plan is essential.”
Karol Sikora, consultant oncologist at the University of Buckingham, said: ‘Young, otherwise healthy women will sadly die unnecessarily due to these delays. We closed the country for Covid, where is the urgency of the government in this?
An NHS spokesperson in England said: ‘The vast majority of cancers detected through screening programs are at a very early stage, so any impact on the patients who needed to be screened is extremely low.
“More than 200,000 people were treated for cancer during the peak of the pandemic, breast screening services are now fully operational.”
People over 70 are wrongly denied breast cancer surgery: Thousands of elderly patients do not undergo operations or chemotherapy because of the belief that they are too fragile to withstand intensive treatment, reveals a new study
By Eleanor Hayward Health Reporter for the Daily Mail
Thousands of older women with breast cancer are unnecessarily denied life-saving surgery, a study found.
Women over the age of 70 can go unnoticed for surgery or chemotherapy due to the mistaken belief that they are too fragile to withstand intensive treatment.
Instead, they are often given anti-estrogen hormone therapy tablets, a less aggressive treatment for breast cancer.
Thousands of older women with breast cancer are unnecessarily denied life-saving surgery, a study found. Library Image
Woman, 60, was ‘blissfully unaware’ of her breast cancer when her mammogram was canceled at the confinement
Susan Daniels was ‘happily unaware’ that she might have breast cancer when her mammogram was canceled early in the lockdown.
Susan Daniels’ mammogram was canceled early in the confinement.
But two months later, she found a lump in her breast and was diagnosed with the disease in June.
Despite missing the screening test, Ms. Daniels believes she is one of the lucky ones because she was able to get a quick diagnosis after checking her breasts.
The 60-year-old man has already undergone surgery and will soon begin radiotherapy treatment.
She said: ‘I always attended my breast exam when invited, so when we moved to a new area, I called in March to make the appointment I was supposed to.
“ When I was informed that the screening was on hold due to the pandemic and that I would receive an invitation at some point in the future, it was disappointing, but I understood that COVID-19 was making everything difficult. However, at the time, I was blissfully unaware that I might have breast cancer. ‘
The Quality Manager from Glynneath, Wales, said: ‘When I got the news that I had breast cancer it was devastating and surreal at the same time.
“In my opinion, screening is vital for early detection, as is self-monitoring. I can’t even begin to know the anguish experienced by anyone who is still waiting for a date.
But research has shown that it is appropriate for almost all older women to have surgery, which is more effective and can add years to your life.
Of the 55,000 new cases of breast cancer diagnosed each year in the UK, almost 19,000 are over 70 years old.
Older women are more likely to die from the disease than younger women, but experts say they should be offered surgery to “close the age gap in survival rates.”
Researchers at the University of Sheffield looked at 2,979 older women with breast cancer, of whom about one in five were treated with anti-estrogen tablets alone while the rest underwent surgery.
The pill-only group was an average of eight years older than the group that underwent surgery.
Over the next four years, 42 percent of the group without surgery died of any cause compared to 14 percent of the group that had surgery.
After adjusting the results for age, tumor stage, and other diseases, the researchers, whose findings were presented at the European Virtual Breast Cancer Conference, found that one in three women treated with tablets dies, compared to just one in every four who have surgery.
There were also no deaths attributed to the surgery, and complications such as heart attacks and strokes were rare.
Lead author Professor Lynda Wyld said: “ For most women, surgery is well tolerated and should be the goal of treatment if possible as we have shown that surgery is generally well tolerated and survival rates are slightly lower in women who do not have surgery. ‘
But he added that surgery is not right for everyone, particularly women who are already fighting for their health.
She said: ‘When we looked at the two treatments in a less fit group of older women, these differences in breast cancer survival disappeared.
“These findings suggest that for older, less fit, and more fragile women with hormone-positive breast cancer, hormone therapy alone is likely to be as good as surgery if their life expectancy is less than four to five years.” .
Breast Cancer Now’s Dr Kotryna Temcinaite said: “ This valuable research could lead to a new way of evaluating treatment options for older women that ensures they receive the most appropriate treatment for them, taking into account not only your age but also your fitness levels and personal preferences around treatment.
“Fundamentally, all women with breast cancer, regardless of their age, should have the opportunity to discuss all the treatments available to them with their clinical team so that treatment decisions are tailored to what is best for each individual.”
