Are you getting cancer treatments during COVID-19?

Hi @texastee59, may I ask what cancer you're taking treatment for? Are the spine issues cancer-related or unrelated?

Even though we get so irritated with the robot calls, etc, our phones are wonderful things in this time of confusion. This is a very good idea, and I will share with my son who is beginning chemo treatments for Stage 4 stomach cancer soon.

@merpreb - I don't have any side effects except lousy skin which could be just a combination of lifelong sun, old age and immunotherapy! I agree with what you said about people although I have a few in my neighborhood who have the attitude it won't happen to them. They get angry when I won't let my dog greet their dog and just don't really "get it". We had some severe hoarding going on here on this island but a neighbor came to my rescue today with toilet paper! It is the small things that we become so grateful for!!

Not sure if this has been posted, I just saw today and thought I would share:

Specific questions and answers about COVID-19 for cancer patients
https://www.mayoclinic.org/patient-visitor-guide/covid-19-faqs/cancer

Laurie

@roch
Hi, Laurie
Such confusing information circulating on face masks. The CDC wants everyone to wear one. Mayo only wants people who are sick or symptomatic to wear one. I guess it's every wo/man for her/his self!

@roch- Hello. Mayo Clinic has such wonderful, up-to-date information on COVID-19. Thanks for passing this a long!

@elizm- Information has been very confusing, and especially about masks. My recommendation is to be overprotective. Since all of here on Connect has some sort of illness or disease we need to be very vigilant. Right now the CDC is advocating to wear masks BUT to also stay 6' apart from anyone.
https://www.marketwatch.com/story/this-might-be-the-simplest-no-sew-diy-coronavirus-mask-2020-04-03.
I also suggest adhering to wearing gloves and washing much-used surfaces down with an antiseptic. Also, if you receive packages wipe them down thoroughly before opening them and bringing the contents inside your h

I have mentioned before that you subscribe to CUre Magazine. It is free to all cancer patients. It's a wonderful, up-to-date encyclopedic magazine that covers so many cancers and medicines, articles and patient stories. Below is today's up-date about COVID-19 and having cancer treatments. This is why it is so important to protect yourself! It's not a pretty picture I'm afraid.

How COVID-19 Affects Patients with Cancer https://www.curetoday.com/articles/how-covid19-affects-patients-with-cancer
"Researchers from China examined the impact that coronavirus has on patients who are receiving anti-cancer treatment.
BY Katie Kosko
PUBLISHED March 31, 2020
As the new coronavirus, called COVID-19, continues to spread across the world, it has many experts trying to determine how it affects patients with cancer.

From what is currently known, patients with the disease are a highly vulnerable group. However, just how vulnerable remains to be unknown. Researchers from China conducted a small study using data from 28 patients who were infected with COVID-19 and being treated at three different hospitals in Wuhan, China, from Jan. 13, 2020, to Feb. 26, 2020.

“There is an urgent need to answer the following questions, including whether COVID-19-infected cancer patients will have distinct clinical courses and worse outcomes, such as death from the infection or severe pneumonia, and whether cancer patients should receive
anti-tumor treatments as usual in epidemic areas,” the researchers wrote.

They examined risk factors that are associated with severe events, which they defined as a condition requiring admission to an intensive care unit (ICU), the use of mechanical ventilation or death.

The patient population consisted of mostly men (60.7%) who were a median age of 65 years old. Lung cancer was the most frequently seen diagnosis in 25% of patients, followed by esophageal (14.3%) and breast (10.7%) cancer, and 35.7% of patients had stage 4 disease. In addition, 39.2% of patients had at least one or more coexisting chronic diseases.

The researchers learned that eight patients (28.6%) developed COVID-19 while undergoing therapy in the hospital and 20 (71.4%) contracted the virus from their communities — most (67.9%) were from Hankou, the starting point of the outbreak. Within two weeks of a COVID-19 diagnosis, 21.4% of patients received at least one type of cancer treatment, such as chemotherapy (10.7%), targeted therapy (7.1%), radiotherapy (3.6%) or immunotherapy (3.6%), and one patient received combination chemotherapy and immunotherapy.

Upon admission, more than 80% of patients experienced fever, dry cough, abnormally low levels of lymphocytes in the blood and high levels of high-sensitivity C-reactive protein, which measures levels of inflammation in the body. Nearly 90% of patients showed hypoproteinemia, a condition where there is an abnormally low level of protein in the blood. Three-quarters of the population had trouble breathing and half showed signs of anemia.

The researchers discovered that patients with cancer showed deteriorating conditions and poor outcomes from COVID-19. More than half (53.6%) developed severe events, 21.4% were admitted to ICU, 35.7% had life-threatening complications and 28.6% of the patients died.

“Patients with cancer are particularly susceptible to respiratory pathogens and severe pneumonia because they are at an immunosuppressive state due to malignancy and anti-tumor therapy,” the researchers wrote. “It was found that within 14 days, anti-tumor therapies were significantly associated with the occurrence of severe clinical events in COVID-19 infection.”

However, the researchers noted, increased rate of death could be attributed to delayed hospital admission and a shortage of medical resources at the start of the coronavirus outbreak.

They recommended the following for patients with cancer who are undergoing therapy: vigorous screening for COVID-19 infection, avoiding treatments that cause immunosuppression or having dosages decreased in the case of COVID-19 co-infection."

I had my prostatectomy at the Mayo Clinic in Rochester, scheduled for the end of April, cancelled. Caused a good bit of stress and anxiety for me. Thankfully, my cancer was caught early and the my doctors tell me the wait will likely not be an issue.

@mike1367 - Welcome to Mayo Connect Mike. I bet you felt stress and anxiety over not having your cancer treated. I think that before learning about COVID-19 I would have wanted to have any treatment possible. But after learning the stats (posted above) I'm with you. If you can wait it looks like a better option. Meanwhile, how are you keeping healthy? Have your doctors started any type of hormone therapy while you wait?
Here's some information you might be interested to read.
https://www.mayoclinic.org/diseases-conditions/prostate-cancer/care-at-mayo-clinic/mac-20353097