The number of free government-funded cancer screening tests administered last year was 23.4 percent fewer than the year before the COVID-19 pandemic, the Health Promotion Administration (HPA) said on Monday.
Although cancer has been the leading cause of death in Taiwan for the past 40 years, accounting for about 28 percent of all deaths last year, the number of people who received tests for any type of cancer dropped last year, probably because people were afraid to go to hospitals during the pandemic, the agency said.
A total of 3,889,310 cancer screening tests — for breast cancer, colorectal cancer, cervical cancer and oral cancer — were administered last year, and among them 39,061 cases of precancerous lesions and 7,537 cases of cancer were detected, HPA statistics showed.
Photo: Chiu Chih-jou, Taipei Times
However, the total number of tests fell 14.6 percent from 4,556,048 in 2020 and 23.4 percent from 5,080,303 in 2019, before the COVID-19 outbreak, the data showed.
Taiwan Breast Cancer Society chairman Chen Shou-tung (陳守棟) said most breast cancers are detected through screening tests, not self-examinations, and getting a mammogram every two years can reduce the risk of late-stage breast cancer by 40 percent, as well as reduce the risk of needing a mastectomy.
He advised women to use their birthday to remind themselves to get a mammography or a breast ultrasound every other year.
Those who have a family history of breast cancer can start receiving tests earlier before the eligible age for government-funded mammography at 45 years old, he added.
Some people might have a “false sense of security” during the pandemic, but “cancer will not go away with the outbreak,” Gastroenterological Society of Taiwan secretary-general Chiu Han-mo (邱瀚模) said, adding that people who delay treatment risk their condition worsening.
About 20 percent of people who tested positive in a fecal occult blood test will develop colorectal cancer, but if they delay getting a colonoscopy and further treatment, the risk of death from cancer can increase rapidly, he said.
The lifetime risk of colorectal cancer is one in 15 people in Taiwan, which is relatively high, so people should get tested regularly, he said.
Taiwan Association of Obstetrics and Gynecology chairperson Huang Jian-pei (黃建霈) said that getting a pap smear every three years can reduce the risk of death from cervical cancer by 70 percent, while early diagnosis and treatment can prevent the need for aggressive treatment due to late diagnosis.
Taiwan Head and Neck Society executive council member Lu I-hsing (呂宜興) said that oral cancer screening tests dropped by about 50 percent during the pandemic, as many people were worried about contracting the virus through the mouth and some people neglected apparent symptoms as they can be covered with a mask.
People who drink alcohol, smoke or chew betel nuts can reduce their risk of death from oral cancer by 26 percent if they get tested every two years, he said, adding that if they noticed sores on the lips or inside that mouth that do not heal within two weeks, they should get tested immediately.
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