Dr. Meshad Radio Interview: Don’t Skip Your Screening
On Friday, July 10th, Southern Cancer Center’s senior medical oncologist Dr. Michael Meshad spoke with Mobile radio host Sean Sullivan from FM Talk 1065 about the dangers of skipping your routine cancer screenings and about the latest advancements in targeted cancer treatments.
A recent study showed that in March 2020, screening rates for breast, colon and cervical cancers saw a significant drop, as much as 95% from the previous year. We can attribute this pause in screenings to COVID-19, but this deficit shouldn’t be ignored. Long-term delays of routine screenings, such as mammograms and colonoscopies, can have a negative impact on your health. The fact remains, most cancer is treatable when caught early… the fact also remains, cancer doesn’t stop just because there’s a pandemic.
“The easiest thing to do is skip your annual screening, but a lot can happen in one year. You can postpone an appointment, but don’t skip it,” said Dr. Meshad. “Your doctor’s office is probably the safest place you can be. Everybody that comes in the door is screened for their temperature, it’s a rule that everyone there has to have a mask on, there’s social distancing and everything is wiped down with an antiseptic after each patient. It’s a lot safer than Home Depot.”