COVID-19 and Cancer: How are you preparing for the re-opening?

Posted by Merry, Volunteer Mentor @merpreb, May 7, 2020

I have stage 4 multifocal adenocarcinoma of the lung. It is an NSCLC. I would be very frightened to have to choose whether to get treatment, if needed, or stay home. This virus is deadly and spreads very easily. It can spread from a person who is non-symptomatic, which is even scarier. Having cancer is no joke. It makes us susceptible to so many other illnesses and CIVD-19 is one of them. Dr. Tanios Bekaii-Saab talks about being able to undergo treatments for cancer during our pandemic.
https://connect.mayoclinic.org/page/podcasts/newsfeed-post/cancer-treatment-during-the-covid-19-pandemic/

If you are under treatment for cancer, how are you going to deal with the country opening-up?

Interested in more discussions like this? Go to the Post-COVID Recovery & COVID-19 Support Group.

@sueinmn- I just spoke to the dr's and my appointment has been switched to a call, not a Zoom. I asked for this because they have people in the waiting room and they do the "best that they can" for distancing..this is not good enough. Also, he never ordered blood work so there would be nothing except for an ekg for him to do at this point. Phew! There was no mention of masks or gloves.

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@merpreb That's good ,phone visit My Dr just did same Altho the office does the mask and one person in at a time. I have to make an appt but keep pushing it back No hairdressers yet

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@sueinmn

I would like to report that many things are open here in Minnesota, with more being added each week, but we continue to see many people wearing masks even though not mandatory- probably because our leaders model it routinely. Now comes the time to make hard decisions - when to venture back out into the world, to what extent, and what precautions to take to remain healthy.

Here are my observations, from trips to two grocery stores, pharmacy, my hairdresser, 3 doctors, 3 garden centers and a couple of necessary retail stops this week and last:
- Everyone at the clinics were wearing masks, but a few patients had them dangling below their noses. Temperatures taken & questions asked in the entryway, before admission. Sanitizing all spaces between patients.
- 90% of our retail workers are wearing masks, and most places are sanitizing carts, counters & credit card machines between customers. Almost every place had shields installed at registers, many had one-way aisles and barricades to control traffic. I have decided to not patronize any stores where they are not wearing masks & sanitizing, because I figure unprotected people who deal with the public all day are PRIME candidates to spread the virus - in fact I immediately walked out of any store where the employees were not masked.
- My hairdresser is in a solo salon, being extremely cautious because she herself has health risks. She is following CDC/State guidelines for sanitizing, health checks, masks for all...I felt perfectly safe there. My sister goes to a chain salon - she won't be going back soon, because she said it seemed like each stylist was following only those rules she wanted to - leaving everyone in the place at risk.
- In the garden centers (mainly outdoor facilities), nearly all workers wore masks, they had distancing & one-way paths marked, but few customers in masks, so I stayed outdoors, kept my distance and got out of there as fast as I could - no leisurely strolls to "see what's new."
- At least 60% of shoppers in stores where masks are not required do wear them - primarily the older people and the milennials, but not so much the teens or those between 40-60??? In the hardware store, seems like most of the tradespeople also wear them, my contractor brother thinks it's because they are used to wearing masks for dusty jobs, and are expected to wear them in peoples' homes and most businesses.
- The worst place was my pharmacy - one pharm tech came in from lunch, put on her mask, and started waiting on customers without sanitizing hands, the other had no mask in evidence - went to complain to the manager, and she had no mask either. Walked out irritated, and will look for a new pharmacy...

I'm still not ready to sit down and eat in a restaurant, but we have been picking up takeout food from our favorite local eateries all along. Our church is not yet resuming in-person services (both pastors and many members are high risk, and they would have to have a lottery to figure out which of us would be allowed in anyway.)

Finally, I have been regularly hitting the less-popular local parks and walking paths on weekdays since the stay-home order lifted. It is easy to maintain distance, and great to see other people - have had some lovely conversations with strangers, sitting on adjacent park benches. I wear a mask, or have it handy, depending on the amount of people around.

Just so you know - through all of this, I have worn a mask, washed & sanitized my hands until they are like sandpaper, and sanitized my poor car repeatedly. Yesterday I had a presurgery covid-19 test, and it came back negative.

So, with some careful observation of how each business operates, wearing a mask, social distancing & good hand hygiene, sticking to slow times or senior hours, and avoiding the obvious more dangerous places, it seems is possible to safely get back out in the world a little bit.

What is everyone else doing these days?
Sue

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@sueinmn. On Saturday my daughter who live about 60 miles north of me came and took me to her house for a week's visit. Both she and her husband had been staying/working at home since beginning of March. I have only been out twice, once to TJ, and once to get lab work done, so we feel it's pretty safe. It's great to see them again.
My daughter gave me a much needed hair cut and she did it better than my hairdresser! They cooked paella on Saturday. I helped her with her sewing machine problem. On Sunday we had a prime rib take out dinner from a private club they belong to. We stayed in the car and they loaded the meals in boxes in the trunk. We still have masks on, and they did too. This was my first beef meal in 6 months!! This week they will get fish from an Alaskan fisherman , most likely halibut, and regular veggies delivery from local farm. I am so spoiled.
She has also started a vegetable and herb garden. The herbs are growing really well, except something is eating the dill seedlings. Her fig trees are full of figs, not ripe yet. She said when it gets close to being ripened, the squirrels or birds would start making small bites on each of them to find a ripe one and she ended up nothing. She tried putting a net over it but it didn't help. We actually saw a squirrel leaping off the roof of the guest house to the tree!
I still do my walk every morning, the very famous Descanso Garden is one mile away so that would be my route, but I don't think it's open. It's usually very busy because they have beautiful flowers and cherry blossoms in March.
I'm really enjoying this change of scenery, hope everyone is doing well and keep walking.

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@mayofeb2020 I was thinking of you the other day glad to hear your doing well A good change for you .Take care

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