COVID-19+Cancer Combo, Now the Latest Fear

A poll that the Kaiser Family Foundation conducted found that almost 50 percent of Americans had missed or delayed medical care due to the pandemic.

Cancer patients who seek care experience a vast range of challenges as US states reopen. Two of these obstacles include heavily limited appointments for in-hospital checkups, and new clinical tests have been put on hold.

According to the chair in hematology-oncology, Dr. Rober Figlin, from the Cedars-Sinai in Los Angeles, cancer does not care about the COVID-19 pandemic that's taking place. He added, "We don't want people" with abnormalities in health conditions to postpone their assessment.

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Trip to the Hospital is a Must

Millions of Americans are battling cancer and rely on chemotherapy for their treatment of breast cancer that, most of the time, spread to bones and liver.

Now, with the existence of the pandemic, a lot of cancer patients feel nervous about leaving their homes for their treatment.

While some patients have reported their treatment has not changed since the COVID-19 spread across the US, others are at high risk of severe complications if they become infected by the virus.

Undeniably, a lot of cancer patients fear the fatal combination of cancer and COVID-19. One research that assessed "records of over 1,000 adult cancer patients" who tested positive with COVID-19 found that 13 percent of them died. 

Based on a report from John Hopkins, this is in comparison to the 5.9-percent overall mortality rate in the US.

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Affected by the Pandemic

In late March, for instance, 43-year-old Megan-Clare Chase from Georgia lost her job as a project manager for a staffing firm. As a result, she lost her health care benefits that came with her employment. 

Her main worry was how to pay for the MRI or diagnostic mammogram that was then still on the schedule for two days before the end of her health care benefits.

To date, Chase, who, according to a report from the Medical Xpress, "is in remission from stage 2A breast cancer," is scheduling scans in advance, every six months, too, at the Atlanta-based Breast Care Specialists.

When she got there, the cancer patient recalled, "It was really unsettling" that she continued and said she almost felt like she was a leper. Already very careful since her chemo days, Chase now brings her own pens in her purse, on top of her extra masks and pair of gloves.

Taking Extra Protections

Reports indicate that cancer centers nationwide have taken extra protective measures. Specifically, at Northwestern, patients are led through "a single entryway," where the wearing mask is required.

A security guard meets and checks their temperature before they register with receptionists who are positioned behind shields made of plastic.

No accompanying members of the family or visitors are permitted inside the building, and the waiting rooms and café are both devoid of unwanted agents that spread germs. Not even coffee-vending machines and magazines are insight.

Wherever they can, a lot of doctors are turning to the so-called "telemedicine" to restrict the trips of cancer patients to the hospital.

For instance, in Salt Lake City, gastrointestinal oncology for Intermountain Healthcare director, Dr. Mark Lweis said, about 50 percent of his patient visits are currently virtual.

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