Perspective of Oncology Patients During COVID-19 Pandemic: A Prospective Observational Study From India

Ghosh, Joydeep; Ganguly, Sandip; Mondal, Debapriya; Pandey, Prashant; Dabkara, Deepak; Biswas, Bivas

doi:10.1200/go.20.00172

Cited by 50 publications

(74 citation statements)

References 7 publications

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“…The value of this individualized contact with the patient is also supported by data from a study by Ghosh et al which they investigated a population with different cultures and affected by several solid tumors and not only lung cancer ( 13 ). In this study, where the authors did not report an individualized telephone discussion to discuss and justify individualized procedures and treatment delay or modification, 68% of the patients wanted to continue treatment without postponement, despite a high percentage of patients concerned about the risk of infection (61%) ( 15 ).…”

Section: Discussionmentioning

confidence: 93%

Fears and Perception of the Impact of COVID-19 on Patients With Lung Cancer: A Mono-Institutional Survey

et al. 2020

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In February 2020, Italy became one of the first countries to be plagued by the SARS-CoV-2 pandemic, COVID-19. In March 2020, the Italian government decreed a lockdown for the whole country, which overturned communication systems, hospital organization, and access to patients and their relatives and carers. This issue had a particular regard for cancer patients. Our Thoracic Oncology Division therefore reorganized patient access in order to reduce the risk of contagion and, at the same time, encourage the continuation of treatment. Our staff contacted all patients to inform them of any changes in treatment planning, check that they were taking safety measures, and ascertain their feelings and whether they had any COVID-19 symptoms. To better understand patients’ fears and expectations of during the pandemic period, we created a nine-question interview, administered from April to May 2020 to 156 patients with lung cancer. Patients were classified by age, sex, comorbidity, disease stage, prior treatment, and treatment type. The survey showed that during the pandemic period some patients experienced fear of COVID-19, in particular: women (55% vs. 33%), patients with comorbidities (24% vs. 9%), and patients who had already received prior insult (radiotherapy or surgery) on the lung (30% vs. 11%). In addition, the patients who received oral treatment at home or for whom intravenous treatment was delayed, experienced a sense of relief (90% and 72% respectively). However, only 21% of the patients were more afraid of COVID-19 than of their cancer, in particular patients with long-term (> 12 months) vs. short-term cancer diagnosis (28% vs. 12.5%, respectively). Furthermore, the quarantine period or even just the lockdown period alone, worsened the quality of life of some patients (40%), especially those in oral treatment (47%). Our data demonstrate how lung cancer patients are more afraid of their disease than of a world pandemic. Also this interview indirectly highlights the clinician’s major guiding principle in correctly and appropriately managing not just the patient’s expectations of their illness and its treatment, but also and especially of the patient’s fears.

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Section: Discussionmentioning

confidence: 93%

Fears and Perception of the Impact of COVID-19 on Patients With Lung Cancer: A Mono-Institutional Survey

et al. 2020

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“…However, over a third of the participants in both studies expressed concerns about themselves or a family member contracting COVID-19. Given the added stress associated with social distancing and other mitigation procedures initiated during the pandemic, clinicians need to be mindful of oncology patients' fears and concerns about COVID-19 as well as plans to monitor and manage their cancer [26] and plan to discuss these concerns during telehealth or in person visits. In addition, given that our patients were well educated, future studies need to evaluate gaps in knowledge and optimal educational approaches for individuals with lower levels of education.…”

Section: Discussionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Oncology patients’ perceptions of and experiences with COVID-19

Miaskowski

Paul

Snowberg

et al. 2020

Support Care Cancer

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Purpose No information is available on cancer patients' knowledge of and experiences with COVID-19. We undertook an evaluation of differences in COVID-19 symptom occurrence rates, COVID-19 testing rates, clinical care activities, knowledge of COVID-19, and use of mitigation procedures between patients who were and were not receiving active cancer treatment. Methods Patients enrolled were > 18 years of age; had a diagnosis of cancer; and were able to complete the emailed study survey online. Results Of the 174 patients who participated, 27.6% (n = 48) were receiving active treatment, 13.6% were unemployed because of COVID-19, 12.2% had been tested for COVID-19, and 0.6% had been hospitalized for COVID-19. Patients who were not on active treatment reported a higher mean number of COVID-19 symptoms (3.1 (± 4.2) versus 1.9 (± 2.6)), and patients who reported a higher number of COVID-19 symptoms were more likely to be tested. Over 55% of the patients were confident that their primary care provider could diagnose COVID-19, and the majority of the patients had high levels of adherence with the use of precautionary measures (e.g., social distancing, use of face coverings). Conclusion The high level of COVID-19 symptoms and the significant overlap of COVID-19 and cancer-related symptoms pose challenges for clinicians who are assessing and triaging oncology patients for COVID-19 testing. For patients on active treatment, clinicians face challenges with how to assess and manage symptoms that, prior to COVID-19, would be ascribed to acute toxicities associated with cancer treatments or persistent symptoms in cancer survivors.

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“…Psychological comorbidities are common in any chronic medical illnesses including cancer. For many patients visiting our hospital, fear of cancer progression mattered more significantly than fear of COVID-19 [ 11 ]. The patients were seen to be additionally distressed by the constraints imposed by the lockdown, during this pandemic.…”

Section: Challenges In the Management Of Covid-19 Patients With Haemamentioning

confidence: 99%

COVID-19 and haematology services in a cancer centre from a middle-income country: adapting service delivery, balancing the known and unknown during the pandemic

Radhakrishnan¹,

Nair²,

Goel³

et al. 2020

ecancer

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The COVID-19 pandemic has caused major disruptions in multiple spheres of healthcare delivery in the world. Developing nations have had to tackle this unanticipated crisis in the midst of various other healthcare delivery issues and resource constraints. As a tertiary level cancer care provider located in an eastern Indian city, a COVID-19 hotspot, we share our experience from the perspective of haematology and haematopoietic stem cell transplantation (HSCT) services. The primary challenges related to infection control included infection screening and decreasing exposure among patients and healthcare workers. Logistic challenges include maintaining essential patient care services, personnel redeployment, blood bank inventory constraints and maintaining the supply chain for a continuum of care. Clinical management challenges were dealt with by rationalising treatment delivery by modification of treatment regimens, risk-based deferral of HSCT, management of COVID-19 in patients, and staggering the follow-up schedules in survivors and those on maintenance therapies, among other strategies. These challenges were compounded by the restrictions imposed by a countrywide lockdown in the initial period of the pandemic, which also affected the socio-economic aspects of treatment delivery. As a training institution, this period also impacted academics and research activities. This overview details our response to these challenges during the COVID-19 pandemic, which has many unknowns.

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Perspective of Oncology Patients During COVID-19 Pandemic: A Prospective Observational Study From India

Cited by 50 publications

References 7 publications

Fears and Perception of the Impact of COVID-19 on Patients With Lung Cancer: A Mono-Institutional Survey

Fears and Perception of the Impact of COVID-19 on Patients With Lung Cancer: A Mono-Institutional Survey

Oncology patients’ perceptions of and experiences with COVID-19

COVID-19 and haematology services in a cancer centre from a middle-income country: adapting service delivery, balancing the known and unknown during the pandemic

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