People who detect changes or lumps in their breasts should see their GP rather than waiting for screening clinics and vans to reopen, says the Breast Cancer Network Australia (BCNA).
When the ACT entered lockdown on 12 August, breast screening was temporarily suspended, said Canberra Health Service executive director, cancer and ambulatory support, Sarah Mogford.
Patients are being contacted about re-scheduling their appointments.
“Given the evolving COVID-19 situation in the ACT and surrounding region, health care facilities in the ACT have made precautionary changes to keep our most vulnerable patients safe and to further protect staff and visitors,” Ms Mogford said.
“We appreciate that some patients are calling the service to cancel their appointments and we thank those people for being proactive at this time.
“Breast screening reminder letters continue to be processed and these include updated information on the status of breast screening in the ACT, and we urge women to continue to check their breasts and see their GP if they have symptoms. Women who have had their appointments cancelled will be rebooked as a priority once the service resumes.”
Ms Mogford said those who have had a mammogram recently will still have further assessment if required.
“As of Monday 16 August, non-essential, non-urgent and outpatient (non-admitted) care will be reduced and patients will be contacted about re-scheduling appointments if necessary. Where possible, we will use telehealth to avoid the need for people to come to the hospital,” she said.
“We appreciate everyone’s compliance with the public health orders and remind the public to be kind and respectful towards our frontline staff who are doing what’s required during these extraordinary times.”
In NSW, a number of BreastScreen NSW services have closed because of the risk posed by the virus, as well as patient cancellations and the need to redeploy staff to aid the pandemic response.
Appointments will be rescheduled for a future date or at another service, says BreastScreen NSW.
The organisation says it has modelling showing that there will be minimal impact as long as women go on to screen once their program comes back.
But BCNA is concerned that closing the services will delay early detection, diagnosis and potentially life-saving treatment.
“When a person finds a lump or sees changes in their breast, assessments and tests are key to finding out whether it’s benign or whether it’s a tumour that could be aggressive and quickly become harder to treat,” says Professor Bruce Mann, a surgeon and BCNA board member.
“These assessments need to be done urgently to give women, and men, the best chance of recovery.”
He said anyone with symptoms should not hesitate to contact their GP.
Academic research found that cancer diagnoses dropped by 10 per cent in 2020 due to COVID-19 restrictions, which included the temporary closure of BreastScreen Victoria services.
BCNA says it is concerned that NSW could see a similar drop in diagnoses.
Newstate Media with AAP
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