As doctors start adjusting to restrictions brought on by the coronavirus pandemic, Louisiana is the latest state to relax its regulations around Covid-19 so that people with cancer can get surgery.
Elective surgeries have officially started in Louisiana with stringent health guidelines concerning patients’ admission into the hospital. Under the revised order, patients will be dropped off at the main entrance of the hospital since family members are still not allowed to accompany them for surgery. From there, patients will have their temperature taken to make sure they show no symptoms of the virus and will be taken to a section of the hospital solely dedicated to surgery patients.
Read MoreAdditionally, Dr. Finan says patients with biopsy positive cancer or high grade dysplasia where surgeries can possibly cure them will also be prioritized. However, Dr. Finan is vehement about having open and transparent conversations with patients to determine whether they’re comfortable going forward with surgery during this uncertain time.
“It’s a different health care setting it was six months ago,” Dr. Finan says.
Surgeries Going Forward During Covid-19
Similar to Louisiana, some Texas hospitals have also started rescheduling delayed elective surgeries for cancer patients under revised regulations. Hospitals may sign up to dedicate 25% of their capacity to Covid-19 patients, and restrictions on surgeries will be lifted.
"The goal is to get the patient taken care of as quickly as possible," Dr. Allison DiPasquale of Texas Oncology tells SurvivorNet in a separate interview. "They're very excited about this as their next step, and the good news is that we're going to get to these patients very quickly and we're going to give them the exacting care that we would have even if Covid-19 hadn't happened. That's the good news for these patients."
While some hospitals are starting to lift surgery restrictions, that doesn’t mean cancer patients haven’t been receiving care during Covid-19. Dr. Heather McArthur, the Medical Director of Breast Oncology at Cedars-Sinai Medical Center in Los Angeles, told SurvivorNet that she is still enrolling patients in clinical trials and treatment options are still available despite disruptions caused by the virus.
"I don't want my patients to lose hope or think that their future is compromised because of this pandemic,” Dr. McArthur says.
Determining whether a surgery must be done immediately or can be postponed is a case-by-case basis, according to Dr. Stephen Freedland, Director of the Center for Integrated Research in Cancer and Lifestyle at Cedars-Sinai.
"I think it really is a discussion with the patient," Dr. Freedland says. "Can this safely be delayed for a period of time? I think the challenge is if we knew this would be two or three months it would be one discussion, but we don't know how long this will be delayed."
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