MAYWOOD, IL – As the pandemic continues, there has never been a more important time to continue with cancer screening – routine mammography, pap smears, colonoscopies – as well as ongoing treatment and care for cancer, says Loyola Medicine’s chair of radiation oncology.
William Small, Jr., MD, FACRO, FACR, FASTRO, professor and chairman, Department of Radiation Oncology, Loyola University Chicago Stritch School of Medicine, and director, Cardinal Bernardin Cancer Center, says “there has been a significant drop in cancer screening” throughout the U.S. during the pandemic. “Screenings help detect early cancers and can even prevent some cancers. Some patients even have symptoms and they’re scared to go to the doctor. The risk is that they’ll either lose their window of opportunity for a curative treatment, or they’ll have a serious complication from the symptoms they are having.
“There are also strong fears about getting treatment—getting chemotherapy and radiation; going outside every day to the hospital,” says Dr. Small, in the new Loyola Medicine video “The Importance of Cancer Care During COVID-19.”
“For people under the age of 80 in this country, cancer is a leading cause of death. And we don’t want to take one problem and switch it for another,” he said.
Loyola University Medical Center has continued to treat cancer patients – uninterrupted – throughout the pandemic, utilizing Centers for Disease Control (CDC) COVID-19 safety standards. All staff and patients have their temperature taken and are screened at the door for COVID-19 exposure, patients are also screened the day before their appointment, and all staff and patients are required to wear a face mask. Masks will be provided to anyone who does not have one. “I would very much encourage people to continue their general medical care, whether it’s a cancer screening, whether they have a symptom that may be related to cancer, or whether it’s for high blood pressure or diabetes,” Dr. Small said. “Don’t ignore your health care because you are worried about the pandemic.”
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About Loyola Medicine
Loyola Medicine, a member of Trinity Health, is a nationally ranked academic, quaternary care system based in Chicago's western suburbs. The three-hospital system includes Loyola University Medical Center (LUMC), Gottlieb Memorial Hospital, MacNeal Hospital, as well as convenient locations offering primary care, specialty care and immediate care services from nearly 2,000 physicians throughout Cook, Will and DuPage counties. LUMC is a 547-licensed-bed hospital in Maywood that includes the William G. and Mary A. Ryan Center for Heart & Vascular Medicine, the Cardinal Bernardin Cancer Center, the John L. Keeley, MD, Emergency Department, a Level 1 trauma center, Illinois's largest burn center, the Nancy W. Knowles Orthopaedic Institute, a certified comprehensive stroke center, transplant center and a children’s hospital. Having delivered compassionate care for over 50 years, Loyola also trains the next generation of caregivers through its academic affiliation with Loyola University Chicago’s Stritch School of Medicine and Marcella Niehoff School of Nursing.
For more information, visit loyolamedicine.org. You can also follow Loyola Medicine on LinkedIn, Facebook, Instagram or X (formerly known as Twitter).
About Trinity Health
Trinity Health is one of the largest not-for-profit, faith-based health care systems in the nation. It is a family of 127,000 colleagues and more than 38,300 physicians and clinicians caring for diverse communities across 26 states. Nationally recognized for care and experience, the Trinity Health system includes 93 hospitals, 107 continuing care locations, the second largest PACE program in the country, 142 urgent care locations and many other health and well-being services. In fiscal year 2024, the Livonia, Michigan-based health system invested $1.3 billion in its communities in the form of charity care and other community benefit programs. For more information, visit us at www.trinity-health.org, or follow us on LinkedIn, Facebook, and X (formerly known as Twitter).