The new James Cancer Diagnostic Center is now open at Ohio State, increasing access to timely cancer diagnoses in central Ohio. “On the very first day we saw a patient with a suspicious chest X-ray who couldn’t schedule a diagnostic test for several weeks due to the impact of COVID-19 on health care,” says David Cohn, MD, MBA, the Chief Medical Officer of the James Cancer Hospital and Solove Research Institute. “We saw something in the lungs and lymph nodes, and the patient was immediately scheduled for surgery with our cancer experts at The James.” On the second day, a patient with a growing mass in their abdomen called to make an appointment, and was seen immediately. “A biopsy was performed that confirmed the tumor was cancerous, and this patient is now being treated by one of our experts,” Cohn says. The idea for creating a James Cancer Diagnostic Center had been discussed for some time. Then came the COVID-19 pandemic, which made it harder for people with medical issues, suspicious growths and abnormal blood tests to get diagnoses in their cancers’ early stages. “It went from an idea we were talking about to something we developed, and we literally opened our doors in a couple of weeks,” Cohn says. “We’re so happy we’re able to provide this service to our patients, and especially to underserved populations here in central Ohio who have been hit especially hard by COVID-19, and may not have access to top-notch health care.” The center offers same-day and next day appointments for patients. Cohn also urged people to reschedule cancer screenings they may have put off these past few months due to COVID-19. “A month or two delay for a mammogram, colonoscopy or PAP test isn’t a problem, but when that becomes six months or a year, that’s an issue,” Cohn says, adding that the director of the National Cancer Institute recently said that all these screening delays could result in 10,000 deaths over the next several years. “It’s safe to get back to health care,” Cohn says. “We understand more and more about COVID-19, and we do everything we can to keep our patients safe.” Call to schedule an appointment with the new James Cancer Diagnostic Center at 614-293-5066. Listen as Cohn provides more details about the James Diagnostic Center on The James Cancer-Free World podcast.