Boston 25 News published a story interviewing a Middlesex Digestive Endoscopy doctor who has been seeing a spike in advanced cancers in younger people who fear seeing a doctor during the COVID-19 pandemic.
Middlesex Digest Endoscopy’s Dr. Raj Devarajan encountered a 29-year-old Chelmsford woman who felt something was off with her body. After scheduling a colonoscopy with Devarajan, she learned she had Stage 4 colon cancer.
“Because of COVID, routine care has been ignored,” Deverajan said to Boston 25 News. “Patients only go when they absolutely have to go.”
Devarajan says he and his fellow gastroenterologists are seeing patients as young as 25 years old being diagnosed with cancer.
“The American Cancer Society has recognized that, and now moved the normal screening from 50 to age 45,” Devarajan said.
If Americans continue to put off seeing a doctor for routine care, Devarajan believes COVID-19 won’t be the country’s only health concern.
“I think by December we are going to see more advanced cancers because they haven’t been screened,” he said.