Covid has had a “catastrophic” impact on cancer treatments and “a crisis is brewing,” warns the World Health Organization.
Millions of people across Europe have had their scans or treatment delayed due to lockdowns put in place to contain the 2020 coronavirus pandemic.
As a result, many will start treatment later when their disease is more advanced and difficult to treat, meaning they die sooner or remain disabled.
Dr. Hans Kluge, WHO’s regional director for Europe, said: “ Due to travel restrictions and the tremendous pressure on health systems to combat Covid-19, cancer services have been disrupted across the region, making diagnosis and treatment significant. delayed, which has a direct impact on the chances of a cure or survival for hundreds of thousands of cancer patients. ‘
Many more people will die in the coming years, particularly from breast and colon cancer, for which screening appointments have been delayed, he said.
Dr. Kluge echo concerns voiced by cancer charities in the UK last year, who said excluding patients in the spring would trigger a cancer time bomb.
In addition to urgent appointments and emergency treatment, many hospital services were closed in the first lockdown of 2020 in preparation for an increase in the number of Covid patients. It took months for the NHS to get back on its feet, and during that time the number of people waiting for routine surgeries soared to a record 4.46 million.
Macmillan Cancer Support has been ringing the alarm for months that hundreds of thousands of fewer appointments have been made to discuss suspected cancer during the pandemic, meaning more and more people are living undiagnosed.
Dr. Hans Kluge, WHO’s regional director for Europe, said: “ Cancer services have been disrupted throughout the WHO European region, significantly delaying diagnosis and treatment, directly affecting the chances of a cure or survival for hundreds of thousands of cancer patients ”
Data from Public Health England suggests 14 percent fewer people than expected have received radiotherapy for cancer this year, Macmillan Cancer Support warned. The decline in treatments and appointments is not because fewer people get cancer, but because they don’t go to doctors or hospitals when they should.
Dr. Kluge said in his statement yesterday: “ At the Kyrgyz National Center for Oncology, the number of cancers diagnosed in April last year fell by 90 percent, while in the Netherlands and Belgium it fell by 30-40 percent at the first lockdown of 2020.
Delayed diagnosis and treatment in the UK is expected to lead to an increase in deaths from colorectal [bowel] cancer by 15 percent, and 9 percent for breast cancer in the next 5 years.
“A crisis of non-communicable diseases, including cancer, is brewing, caused by the pandemic.”
Fear of Covid patients totally overwhelming NHS hospitals gripped politicians last spring when they saw wards in Italy overflowing with virus patients.
As a result, most of the ‘non-essential’ medical care was suspended so that the health service could focus on preparing for the coronavirus.
Even patients who had not canceled their appointments or surgeries were found to be too scared to show up for fear of contracting coronavirus or putting additional strain on the NHS.
A&E visits in England plummeted by about half during the initial lockdown – partly because people stayed home and were less likely to be injured, and partly because some people delayed delaying medical care.
This has since reached a spike in the number of people dying in their own homes.
While non-Covid deaths in hospitals fell to below-average levels last year, deaths at home rose. Experts say this may be because people avoided hospitals.
Macmillan Cancer Support said last month that the number of people visiting a cancer specialist between March and November 2020 was 350,000 fewer than the same period in 2019, a 19 percent drop.
The number of people starting treatment for cancer is also still significantly lower than average.
Cancer services in the UK have been disrupted by the large number of people who have been hospitalized with Covid-19. There are currently more than 30,000 people with the disease on hospital wards across the country
In November, according to the most recent data from the NHS, 1,200 people started their cancer treatment less than expected – 25,074 compared to a usual 26,300.
And the number of people who started cancer treatment after a routine screening appointment was 29 percent lower than in 2019, to 1,337.
Screening appointments also had to be postponed, meaning thousands of people missed their regular breast, cervix, or bowel tests to try to detect cancer early, which is critical to improving survival rates.
Data from Public Health England also showed that the number of people receiving radiotherapy for cancer during the crisis had dropped 14 percent below average.
The decline in treatments and appointments is not because fewer people get cancer, but because they don’t go to doctors or hospitals when they should.
Macmillan’s chief policy officer Sara Bainbridge said: “It is critical that cancer does not become the ‘forgotten C’ in this pandemic.
“We need to see government action to ensure cancer services are protected all winter and this second wave.”
Dr. Kluge explained, “Some countries have experienced a shortage of cancer drugs, and in many countries the number of new cancer diagnoses has dropped significantly – even in the countries with the most resources.
‘Even before the pandemic, there was a high demand for oncological health personnel. The high cost of cancer drugs and treatments is a challenge for all countries, including high-income countries.
Pre-existing inequalities are also increasing as a result of the economic crisis, making it more difficult for many to adopt healthy behaviors or access prevention or care services.
The impact of the pandemic on cancer in the region is nothing short of catastrophic. It made us realize the real human cost of neglecting a non-communicable disease such as cancer.
“This is our wake-up call, from grassroots to governments, to tackle cancer together.”