Managing Cancer Care During the COVID-19 Pandemic: Agility and Collaboration Toward a Common Goal

Abstract

University of Washington are at the forefront of delivering care to patients with cancer during this public health crisis. This Special Feature highlights the unique circumstances and challenges of cancer treatment amidst this global pandemic, and the importance of organizational structure, preparation, agility, and a shared vision for continuing to provide cancer treatment to patients in the face of uncertainty and rapid change.

Recommendations for triage, prioritization and treatment of breast cancer patients during the COVID-19 pandemic

“…Even in countries where COVID19 has not attained very high incidence rates, containment measures are recommended and are being implemented, to prevent infections both of patients and healthcare professionals. The response to this pandemic has led to a sudden disruption of routine medical care, including the treatment of cancer patients, an especially vulnerable population, whose outcomes are dependent on timely and high-quality multidisciplinary interventions 5 .…”

“…Diagnostic procedures in symptomatic patients should be scheduled according to local availability and resources. However, all efforts should be made to avoid delayed diagnosis in those with suspicious symptoms or clinical or imaging findings [BIRADS 5 (high priority) or BIRADS 4 (medium priority)] and its potential impact on cancer outcomes 4,5,11,12 .…”

French consensus on management of head and neck cancer surgery during COVID-19 pandemic

“…This advice applies to both consultations and surgical procedures and is of course likely to change on a day-by-day basis according to how the epidemic develops, available technical resources and state of knowledge about the COVID-19 infection [1,2].…”

Adapting palliative radiation therapy for bone metastases during the Covid-19 pandemic: GEMO position paper

“…The current health crisis caused by COVID-19 is making it difficult to organize oncology departments, particularly radiotherapy departments (1). While it continues to be paramount to avoid the transmission of COVID-19 and to ensure the safety of health and medical professionnals, it is equally critical to allow essential treatments to continue in order to maximise palliation and quality of life of patients with advanced cancers.…”