Cancer treatment and diagnosis backlogs may affect cancer survival

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A seven-fold drop in biopsies required for skin cancer diagnosis in Ontario early in the pandemic was observed, with a backlog of over 45,000 cases remaining six months later. Photo: Pexels

 

(Timothy P. Hanna/ The Conversation) — Unlike the COVID-19 pandemic, the cancer pandemic has raged on for centuries, though it similarly afflicts people in all corners of the world. In 2020 alone, over 19 million people were diagnosed with cancer globally, and almost 10 million people die from cancer every year.

The COVID-19 pandemic has been devastating to those infected with the SARS-CoV-2 virus, with over 481 million confirmed cases and 6.1 million deaths.

The number of people who have fallen ill or died due to unintended consequences of pandemic control measures has yet to be determined, though these invisible costs of COVID-19 control measures are likely to be substantial. (…)

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