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Cancer treatment during coronavirus

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Cancer treatment during coronavirus

PantherMedia

Cervical diseases

Despite the fact that the world has been overtaken by the coronavirus pandemic and that the eyes of everyone in almost the entire world are focused on it, there are diseases that need to be treated as soon as they are diagnosed. This is especially true for dangerous cancers such as ovarian cancer. The Polish Society of Gynaecological Oncology has prepared a number of recommendations in relation to the management of patients during the pandemic.

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COVID-19 is particularly dangerous for those with comorbidities. According to researchers in Wuhan, where the coronavirus originated, people diagnosed with cancer are twice as likely to be infected and up to four times more likely to die from this dangerous virus.

Ovarian cancer is considered a silent and insidious killer. Its development is a long process, but what is most significant is that it is asymptomatic. It is usually detected when its stage is advanced enough to metastasise to other organs. Late detection of this cancer therefore carries a poor prognosis and very serious consequences.

- Time is of the essence, ovarian cancer will not wait for the COVID-19 vaccine - says Wiesława Bednarek, secretary of the Polish Society of Gynaecology Oncology.

The coronavirus pandemic is still a huge threat and all recommendations of the Ministry of Health should be followed with due diligence, but there are still other diseases whose treatment cannot wait.

- In the case of ovarian cancer, we should aim to maintain the recommended treatment intensity and therefore implement the most effective methods available at the earliest possible stage of management. It is worth considering using oral medication in patients and prescribing it for a longer period than usual. On the other hand, when monitoring patients, it is worth making wider use of telemedicine solutions, according to specialists from the Department of Gynaecology and Gynaecology Oncology, Teaching Hospital 1 in Lublin.

However, the assurances of the health service are encouraging. Barbara Górska, President of the Blue Butterfly Association, talks about the situation with admitting patients: 'In the first days of the epidemic, we received numerous phone calls from patients whose check-ups were postponed out of concern for their safety. However, despite the initial chaos, it turned out that cancer centres had found their way in the new, difficult reality and had taken a number of measures to ensure that patients were adequately protected. Various measures have been introduced, such as teleportation and telephone contact with the treating physician and, where possible, switching from chemotherapy administered intravenously in hospital to tablet therapy taken at home.

There are additional possibilities to make patients even more mobile, which in turn will reduce the risk of COVID-19. According to the President of the association Polskie Amazonki Ruch Społeczny (Polish Amazons Social Movement), it seems appropriate to add an additional tab in the patient portal with test results.

- This will ensure that the patient will always have access to them. For example, in a situation when she is not supposed to leave the house, she can send the results to the doctor during a follow-up teleportation , says Elżbieta Kozik.