As Massachusetts continues to see coronavirus cases decline, health care providers are seeing increases in late-stage diagnosis of other serious diseases such as cancer.
For more than two months, people have avoided hospitals, out of fear of potentially contracting COVID-19. Now the facilities are seeing patients with severe cases that doctors could have treated more routinely had they visited hospitals earlier.
In regards to cancer, since the pandemic began, appointments for screenings of cervix, colon and breast cancers were down between 86% and 94% nationally compared to average volumes in the three years before, according to Epic Health Research
The numbers resonate locally. Dr. Daniyal A. Siddiqu, the medical director of the Saint Vincent Hospital Cancer and Wellness Center, said he’s already cared for several patients who visited him with later stages of cancer than would normally be expected for a first time visit.
“I have seen patients who have been sitting on things like this for two months now,” Siddiqu said. “And that has led to more progression, a more advanced stage and obviously this type of thing limits options.”
Many hospitals canceled routine screenings amid the coronavirus pandemic, including Saint Vincent Hospital in Worcester. As Massachusetts reopens industries, Saint Vincent has restarted its screening program.
However, in postponing routine procedures, it was never meant for others to delay more severe cases such as people experiencing visible symptoms. Any person that feels a lumps on their breast or testicle or any other abnormal sign that may be linked to cancer shouldn’t wait to see a doctor, regardless of whether COVID-19 is present or not.
“If people have any problems, please do not sit on it,” Siddiqu said. “They should be evaluated.”
Siddiqu said many times the first steps of an evaluation can begin on the phone. If more information is needed, then an in-person appointment may be scheduled.
A few months may not appear to be a long period of time, but Siddiqu said with cancer it can be. He said while cancer can take months or years to become apparent, by the time a recognizable symptom appears - such as a lump or pain - the disease can progress rapidly.
“Once they are to the point where you’re having symptoms, from that point things progress very rapidly in a matter of days or weeks,” Siddiqu said.
Specifically with cancer, early diagnosis, Siddiqu said, is crucial. Most early stages of cancer are very treatable with high success rates of recovery, he said. Any cancer in stages 3 or 4, limit options and the recovery rate is much lower.
“In the cancer world, we always tell people and the patients that it’s so important that we detect these cancers in the earliest stages,” Siddiqu said.
Hospitals across the state have experienced similar patterns where patients arrive for care with more severe cases of diseases.
Across the UMass Memorial Health Care campus, president and CEO Dr. Eric Dickson said cancer diagnosis are down as well as chest pain. But the campus has experienced a surge in heart attacks.
“A lot of people are afraid to come to the hospital," Dickson said. "Little mini strokes, symptoms that they were having, that we could have prevented a big stroke from happening, they’re coming in with a big stroke. And that’s a shame.”
Early in the pandemic, Baystate Health prepared its facilities to handle both COVID-19 patients and emergencies.
“If you are experiencing any symptoms associated with a heart attack or stroke, for example, you should not be home, but in our Emergency Department, said Dr. Niels Rathlev, chair of Baystate’s Department of Emergency Medicine.
To hammer the point of safety in hospitals amid the pandemic, Dickson highlighted the staff at Worcester’s DCU Center, which was transformed into the state’s first field hospital.
About 200 people staffed the facility dealing with dozens of COVID-19 positive patients. Only one tested positive for the virus.
“You’ve done an amazing job in terms of reducing the spread of this infection by doing what is hard and necessary,” Dickson said. “I would also say if you have a loved one or you yourself is experiencing concerning symptoms ... come to the hospitals”
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