Health

Police Department In Los Angeles Will Arrest People With Pink Handcuffs To Raise Breast Cancer Awareness

(Photo credit PAUL J. RICHARDS/AFP via Getty Images)

Brianna Lyman News and Commentary Writer
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The Los Angeles County Sheriff’s Department (LASD) will arrest people using pink handcuffs to raise awareness for breast cancer, Sheriff Alex Villanueva tweeted Thursday.

“Pink badges & pink handcuffs, all meant to grab your attention as we raise awareness and pray for a cure to end Breast Cancer!” Villanueva tweeted, noting that due to the coronavirus pandemic, “many women have put off mammograms and other cancer screenings.”

“Doctors now say they see an alarming rise in severe breast cancer,” Villanueva continued. Villanueva said the LASD donated more than ten thousand dollars to the Pomona Breast Health Center for cancer research.

The pandemic delayed breast cancer care after the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) and government officials recommended hospitals delay elective care, according to BreastCancer.org. This meant that surgeries, screenings and other treatments that were not considered urgent were delayed.

Some women were forced to wait weeks and even months for certain breast cancer surgeries unless they had been diagnosed with an aggressive type of breast cancer, according to the report.(RELATED: Poll: Most Americans Now Say COVID-19 Pandemic Getting Better)

BreastCancer.org studied more than 600 individuals who took a poll regarding how the pandemic affected their breast cancer care. Of the respondents, 32% said there was a delay in routine clinical visits, while 11% said there was a delay in routine mammograms.

Approximately 30% of respondents said fears about the coronavirus led them to consider changing their treatment and 80% of respondents said they had anxiety about their care being impacted by the pandemic.

Researchers also found significant declines in breast cancer screenings.

“We found very significant drop-offs in screening rates for breast, cervical, colorectal, and lung cancer,” Dr. Jennifer Haas of Massachusetts General Hospital said, according to the National Cancer Institute.

Breast cancer is the second most common cancer among women, according to the CDC.