Get It Done: Cancer screenings and follow-ups can’t wait

Here’s a simple truth about to-do lists: making the list is a lot easier than crossing things off. And when the task is difficult, or scary, or unpleasant, it’s only human to want to protect yourself.

Under normal circumstances, cancer screenings and follow-up appointments aren’t exactly fun activities; and for cancer survivors these appointments can bring up memories of a difficult time and the prospect of returning to it. And these are not normal circumstances. The ongoing risk of COVID-19 is real, so if you put off your appointments in order to protect yourself and those around you, you’re not alone. But that choice may have put you at risk.

Cancer screenings and checkups, such as mammograms, colonoscopies and prostate-specific antigen (PSA) blood tests, have gone down significantly in the United States since the start of COVID-19 because of delays or cancellations. But cancer doesn’t take breaks. It doesn’t do “pauses.” Cancer does what it wants, when it wants.

So, it’s time to make a new list—one that puts speaking with your doctor about your cancer screening and follow-up appointments at the top. And that’s what “Get It Done” is here to help with, providing tools and resources to guide you in those conversations with your doctor and prepare you for your appointments, either in-person or via telehealth. 

“Knowledge is power, and you deserve to have it. Empower yourself to take action and take care of your health,” says Chas, a prostate cancer survivor featured in the initiative.

Don’t wait. Call your doctor today and make a plan to keep your cancer screening and follow-up appointments.