Searching for answers: Cancer care during the COVID pandemic

January 13, 2021

Rajan, S., Chakrabarti, D., Akhtar, N., Kumar, V., & Verma, M.

Clinical Epidemiology and Global Health

The current pandemic took hold of health systems worldwide, even though regardless of COVID-19, the rest of the diseases, of course, did not stop. Cancer care was particularly threatened due to the significant immunological compromise that patients suffer. However, this text is an efficient guide to almost all areas of cancer treatment. It is emphasized that treatment and screening should not be postponed, the former already with evidence of being safe. RT-PCR tests must now be performed as part of the pre-surgical routine, and if they have a positive result, it is recommended to wait a period of 4 weeks to perform the surgical procedure. Teleoncology can answer post-chemotherapy follow-up appointments in patients who receive regular cycles, providing patients with personalized care with the lowest risk of infection. Sadly, there is a severe shortage of trained personnel for palliative care and cancer care, a situation that each institution will have to find its individual way of dealing with. With this work, the authors built an excellent guide for oncology practice, where patient safety has become a priority, which essentially translates into reducing exposure to the virus or the risk of COVID complications as much as possible.

Rajan S, Chakrabarti D, Akhtar N, Kumar V, Verma M. Searching for answers: Cancer care during the COVID pandemic. Clin Epidemiol Glob Health. 2021;10:100696. doi:10.1016/j.cegh.2020.100696

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