A national study released earlier this year found an estimated 9.4 million cancer screening tests that normally would have taken place in the United States in 2020 didn’t happen.

There are many reasons for that decrease — limited testing site availability due to COVID-19, people’s fear of going to hospitals during the pandemic and, at times, the need to travel in order to have some testing done.

“Many of these organizations have bounced back to their pre-pandemic levels of screening. That doesn’t necessarily mean everything’s great,” said Dr. Jennifer Croswell of the Healthcare Delivery Research Program in NCI’s Division of Cancer Control and Population Sciences. “There are pockets where people in underserved areas are doing a lot worse than others.”

One way to get more people screened is to make screening more convenient. It will soon be easier for Warren County women to be tested for breast cancer thanks to a $125,000 grant from the Community Foundation of Warren County to Warren General Hospital to purchase a stereotactic breast biopsy unit.

The biopsy unit will work in tandem with the hospital’s Hologic 3D mammography equipment. The procedure is done on an out-patient basis, allowing patients to resume their normal activities right away rather than having to travel out of town and wait for results.

Having such equipment available locally is terrific news for women and their families. Kudos to the Community Foundation of Warren County for stepping up with a wonderful gift to the community.