Cancer screening coach isn't seeing patients because of the pandemic

A regionalcoach that aims to detect early cancer in newcomersand people with low incomes has stopped seeing patients because of the pandemic.

And the service has only been on-and-off for the last 10 months.

The bus visits neighbourhoods to help people get access tomammograms, pap tests and colon cancer screening kits. But the program, which runs in Hamilton, Niagara, Haldimand, Brant,Six Nations and Mississaugas of the Credit, is suspended in response to the province-wide state of emergency announced in January.

Riley Crotta, manager of the Integrated Cancer Screening Program, said the service wants to be safe for the staff and communities.

"The whole idea of physical distancing becomes very, very difficult on a bus," shesaid. "We do know that we are reaching out and serving a more vulnerable patient population."

The service is temporarily closed, said Hamilton Health Sciences (HHS) spokesperson Wendy Stewart, until at least Feb. 11, 2021.

Off the road from March to October

It's been off-and-on since last March, when the province directed regions toramp down health-care services deemed non-essential.Cancer screening services started up again in July, but the bus didn't hit the road again until October.

Crottasaid this was because of the "special considerations" of having a bus that moves from community to community.

When it temporarily resumed from Oct. 6 to Dec. 18, Crotta said, the coachvisited "select communities" with a significant number of people whose screening was deferred during the shutdown.

HHS says nearly 220 people attended appointments, and screening volumes were the same as before the pandemic.

It plannedto resume screeningsin early January following a winter break, but those were deferred until Jan. 25.Now the spread of COVID-19 has forced the screenings to be deferred again.

Reliance on community

Kristi Mackenzie, director of HHS'sregional cancer program, said staff are still answering questionsand guiding people to other health-care services. She said they're still talkingwith community partners gettingthe word out about availableresources.

"All of us would like to be out in the community and providing services," Crottasaid. "But drawing on those partnerships that we've established and the information system that we have in place allows us to really keep track of who we need to connect with."

The system keeps track of people who are due or overdue for screenings, test results and follow-ups.

The coach only allows one client at a time onboard.

As for whether peopleare falling through the cracks, Crottasaidthere are 25 Ontario breast screening program sites in the region, access to pap tests at women's health clinics, and colon cancer check requisitions through primary care providers and Telehealth.

Letters sent by Cancer Care Ontario to notify people about screening were also paused during the pandemic, but Crotta said it will be restarting.

Mackenzie said people can be fearful of engaging with the health-care system, particularly during a pandemic. The screening sites have safe practices in place during the pandemic, she said.

And while people are juggling priorities,Crottaencouragesthemtoseek out preventative care that detects cancer early, particularlyif they're experiencing troubling signs or symptoms.

"It's kind of like the airplane analogy you have to put on your own mask first before you can help others," she said.

Information about cancer screening can be found on the program's website.Clients of the coach can call the team at 905-975-4467 withquestions or concerns.