Earlier this week Dr. Mara Antonoff, an assistant professor of thoracic and cardiovascular surgery at MD Anderson Cancer Center, tweeted that one of her patients, a cancer survivor, had come in for some routine screening, and despite having no symptoms, ended up with a COVID-19 diagnosis. The fact that the virus was discovered by chance, Dr. Antonoff wrote, suggests “frightening limitations in our awareness of infection rates.”
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Read MoreAsymptomatic cancer survivor comes in for surveillance cancer screening imaging. CT shows bilateral ground glass findings, so COVID test is orderedand positive. Incidental findings such as this suggest frightening limitations in our awareness of infection rates. pic.twitter.com/uYtv2O13za
Mara Antonoff, MD (@maraantonoff) April 8, 2020
“We have seen a fair amount of this. Symptoms and finds can be really subtle,” wrote Memorial Sloan Kettering Cancer Center thoracic surgery fellow Hari Keshava.
“Happens for radiation planning and image guiding CTs too. #COVID19,” wrote Dr. Wendy Woodward, a radiation oncologist at MD Anderson Cancer Center.
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Another alarming side effect of the current coronavirus pandemic has been the canceling of health services deemed “non-essential” or elective. In many cases, cancer screening is considered one of those non-essential services, which can be nerve-wracking for cancer survivors, and just about anybody who finds comfort in regular health check-ups.
What would have happened if Dr. Antonoff’s patient had not come in for the routine screening?
Experts Assure: Cancer Care Will Not Be Compromised
However, the experts SurvivorNet has consulted about the pandemic and its effect on cancer care assured us that while protocols have had to change, cancer care will not be compromised.
Dr. Heather McArthur says she wants the breast cancer patients she treats to know that their care will not be compromised because of COVID-19.
“I want to ensure that my patients, and that any breast cancer patients, don’t lose hope,” Dr. Heather McArthur, a breast medical oncologist at Cedars-Sinai Cancer Center, told SurvivorNet. “Our goal is single-mindedly to cure patients of their disease whenever possible — and we will not compromise with that long-term view. It is a time of tremendous hope for a cure, despite this short-term challenge.”
“I want my patients to continue to be hopeful that there will be no compromise in our efforts to cure them,” Dr. McArthur added.
Guidelines for Cancer Care During COVID-19
The country’s largest association of oncologists, The American Society of Clinical Oncology (ASCO), has also published suggestions regarding cancer care as the country’s health system continues to grapple with COVID-19.
ASCO’s recommendations for caring for cancer patients during the pandemic are as follows:
- Anyone caring for cancer patients should follow existing Center for Disease Control (CDC) guidelines
- Elective surgeries at inpatient facilities should be rescheduled if possible
- To decrease visits to clinics, patients able to switch from IV to oral therapies should do so
- For patients deep in remission, stopping treatment is an option
- In cases of essential surgery, clinicians and patients should make individual decisions
When to Get Treatment/When to Wait
The decision to get treatment or to wait it out until the coronavirus pandemic is more controlled will really depend on the patient and the disease. Some people may opt to wait a few months, if they decide with their doctors that that’s possible, while others will want to expose themselves to the hospital environment to get the cancer taken care of as soon as possible.
Dr. Stephen Freedland explains the risks of going in for prostate cancer surgery during the coronavirus pandemic.
“It’s a very, very case-by-case decision. There’s no easy answer,” Dr. Stephen Freedland, Director of Center for Integrated Research in Cancer and Lifestyle at Cedars Sinai, told SurvivorNet when discussing prostate cancer in particular. “The fact that you need surgery tends to mean you have a little bit more aggressive tumor. We also know prostate cancer is a tumor that can wait a month, two, three, sometimes much even longer.”
“Hospitals are kind of hot bed with COVID. I mean, that’s where sick patients go, and rightfully so,” he added. “…You can talk to them about what they’re doing trying minimizing those risks, but there is still some risk in being in that environment.”
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