Barcelona, Feb 1 (EFE) .- The Catalan Federation of Entities against Cancer (FECEC) has recorded a delay during 2020 in new cancer diagnoses due to the health emergency caused by COVID-19, which has increased in 21% demand for psycho-oncological and social support.
Taking advantage of the World Cancer Day that takes place on February 4, the FECEC has launched a statement to demand that the health authorities “increase the efforts that are being made to restore, the sooner the better, normality in cancer care” .
They consider it vitally important to recover this normality prior to the arrival of the pandemic in the screening and rapid diagnosis programs, where despite having resumed the activity there are still serious delays.
The breast cancer screening program was resumed in June and the colon and rectal cancer program was resumed in September, but the situation of the pandemic could cause a slowdown in the implementation schedule.
“There is a direct relationship between the operation of these programs and the future incidence of cancer,” says the FECEC, “so this delay could lead to the detection of cases in more advanced stages and would have a worse prognosis.”
Primary care is overwhelmed and this represents a significant decrease in cases that are referred to hospitals.
Although the first visits attended among the federated entities have increased by a slight 10%, an increase of 21% has also been detected in the demand for psycho-oncological support measures, not only during confinement, but also throughout the year.
The FECEC also recommends that cancer patients get vaccinated when their turn comes, following all the advice of the Spanish Society of Medical Oncology (SEOM). EFE
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