Cancer and COVID: How to tackle two evils together

CANCER The word itself weakens the psyche and strength of many a strong people The biggest reason for that is the fatal outcome traditionally associated with it in the past However in the recent years technological advances have improved the patient survival in early as well as some late cancers and has also improved quality of life in some terminal cancersCOVID19 has wreaked havoc in the year 2020 With excess of 126 million cases worldwide and 850 thousand cases in India it is here to stay for the next year at least With no vaccine in sight the travel restrictions social distancing norms and other precautions will continue This has led to a lot of hurdles in cancer care and treatmentCancer is considered a semiemergency situation as delay in treatment can increase the stage of the disease or in some cases can even prove fatalIn the initial stages of COVID19 the triage process was used wherein only the emergency cases were being operated upon Initial studies from China had shown that patients with cancer did worse during the COVID eraHowever things have changed over the course of last few months A landmark study published by the Tata Memorial Hospital has shown that there were no complications and outcomes were not worse in patients treated for cancer during the COVID19 era Another study which also supported continuation of cancer treatment during COVID19 pandemic was a large study by Memorial Sloan Kettering from USA This also showed that there were no worse outcomes in patient undergoing chemotherapy for cancerIn view of this scientific evidence cancer treatment has been started for our patients Due precautions are taken to screen the patients and segregation of COVID positive and COVID negative patients is doneThe following policies help in management of cancer patients during this COVID19 era1 Wherever possible online video consultation is preferred for the patients especially following up for routine surveillance2 When onsite consultation is needed patients are screened for symptoms of COVID19 and patient is evaluated in the OPD with due protective gear3 Laparoscopic and robotic surgeries can also be done in selected cases with use of smoke evacuators without any additional risk to patient or health care personnel4 For radiation wherever possible hypofractionation protocols are used This implies use of higher doses and higher frequency of radiation delivery to finish the treatment in a shorter duration In selected cases this can mean just one visit per week for radiation or decrease in the duration of treatment from 5 weeks to 3 weeks5 Use of advanced procedures like HIPEC heated intraperitoneal chemotherapy can be done in selected cases at centres of excellence6 Patients who have recovered from COVID do not have any additional complication rates or prolonged ICU or hospital stay Most of them will have the same postoperative course like a patient without COVIDThus even in this pandemic the treatment of cancer can continue as previously Advanced technologies like laparoscopy and robotic surgery can also be used Complex surgeries can be considered with due diligenceIn these pandemic times for cancer treatment the saying by famous Cathaginian general Hannibal hold true Aut viam inveniam aut faciam I will either find a way or make oneDr Ninad KatdareSurgical OncologistSpecialist in Robotic and MASSpecialist in GI Gynaec and Perioneal OncologyContact 9769172789email ninadkatdarehumaneoncologycomCatch up on all the latest entertainment news and gossip here Also download the new midday Android and iOS apps MidDay is now on Telegram Click here to join our channel middayinfomedialtd and stay updated with the latest newsThis story has been sourced from a third party syndicated feed agencies Midday accepts no responsibility or liability for its dependability trustworthiness reliability and data of the text Midday managementmiddaycom reserves the sole right to alter delete or remove without notice the content in its absolute discretion for any reason whatsoever