Ensuring the best care to cancer patients in the COVID-19 pandemic era:
insights and challenges.
Abstract
On 11/3/2020, the World Health Organization declared that COVID-19 is a
pandemic emergency. In this scenario, cancer patients are to be
considered at higher risk, being fragile and often with disease-related
or treatment-induced immunodepression. Furthermore, this health
emergency generates a harmful psychological impact on these patients,
who fear a lot about losing the continuity of cancer therapy. This fact
must be carefully considered by health personnel, especially in
countries where heavy risk containment and social distancing measures,
the only epidemiological strategies currently considered adequate, are
in force. In short, this is a very delicate challenge for health
professionals engaged in oncology. Here, we report some insights and
challenges that healthcare professionals face daily in caring for cancer
patients.