Cancer patients during a pandemic: prevent covid

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In some studies, cancer patients are at the top of the list of people with the highest risk of being infected with COVID-19. However, this should not be an obstacle for cancer patients to undergo treatment.

Currently, hospitals are trying to carry out rigorous examinations to prevent transmission of COVID-19 to cancer patients so that they can continue to undergo regular treatment. This is because delaying cancer treatment can risk worsening the patient's condition.

Procedures to protect cancer patients from the risk of COVID-19

Everyone who wants to enter the Dharmais Cancer Hospital building must fill out the form manually or electronically. The form contains questions about travel history and illness.

After that, visitors must carry out temperature checks and simple interviews regarding the symptoms they feel and the purpose and purpose of arrival. After passing the screening, new visitors are allowed to enter the hospital building.

For cancer patients, examinations related to COVID-19 will be followed by a throat swab (RT-PCR). All patients must first undergo a COVID-19 examination, especially cancer patients who will undergo medical treatment in the form of chemotherapy, radiotherapy, or cancer surgery.

"Do not let positive patients receive chemotherapy for COVID-19, and they will end up falling. We (Dharmais Cancer Hospital) perform swabs on 50 to 100 patients every day. This is so that we know that it is safe for us to treat patients, ”said a lung cancer specialist, doctor Jaka Pradipta, to Hello Sehat, Thursday (23/7), at Dharmais Cancer Hospital.

COVID-19 Outbreak updates Country: IndonesiaData

1,024,298

Confirmed

831,330

Recovered

28,855

DeathDistribution Map

Screening This is strictly done because cancer patients are at high risk of contracting COVID-19 because they tend to have low immunity. In addition, several studies say that when cancer patients are infected with COVID-19, the symptoms they cause will be more severe and fatal than people without comorbidities.

The risk of worsening of symptoms will increase if a patient who is undergoing a series of chemotherapy or radiation treatments is infected with COVID-19.

"So, cancer patients in this pandemic era must really be protected," said doctor Jaka.

Doctor Jaka emphasized that cancer patients should take COVID-19 much stricter than people without cancer.

1. Avoid crowds.
2. Wash your hands frequently.
3. Must wear a mask.
4. Priority remains to the hospital, there should not be any delay in handling.

Cancer patients remain focused on treating their cancer during the pandemic

During the pandemic, many cancer patients do not go to the hospital as scheduled by the doctor. Most of it is due to the fear of contracting COVID-19, especially with a 15 times greater risk of death than other people infected with COVID-19 without cancer.

Large-scale social restrictions (PSBB) have also become an obstacle for some patients to go to the hospital, including patients who do not have vehicles and patients who are outside the city.

"Indeed, many of them finally did not go to the hospital to control them, then they just came back with conditions that were already at an increasingly severe stage," said Doctor Jaka.

For cancer patients, control to the hospital is a must, especially when scheduled for chemotherapy, radiotherapy, or surgery.

Doctor Jaka advised cancer patients not to be too stressed by the risk data for cancer patients against COVID-19 infection. Stress due to excessive worry can actually make the patient's immune system decrease, especially coupled with delays in handling.

"Don't let him be safe from COVID-19 but die of cancer," said doctor Jaka.

The data does reveal a lot, but in fact not all cancer patients infected with COVID-19 experience bad symptoms. There have been cases of cancer patients infected with COVID-19 showing only mild symptoms such as sore throat and the common cold.

For cases at Dharmais Cancer Hospital, the patient will be treated in the isolation room of Dharmais Cancer Hospital so that COVID-19 and cancer are always under doctor's observation.

In contrast, there are several cases of young COVID-19 patients without comorbidities who experience worsening of symptoms and have to be hospitalized.

"Young people who feel healthy should not be complacent and people who have comorbidities (comorbidities) should not panic too much. The problem is that when you panic, your immune system will decrease, ”said doctor Jaka.

"So you can really recover (namely by) preventing transmission of COVID-19 and focus on the same cancer, because cancer can also kill. These are two things that we must both consider, ”he continued.

Cancer treatment with the COVID-19 prevention protocol is better prepared

The problem of handling cancer patients also occurs due to technical matters at the hospital, especially during the early days of COVID-19 entering Indonesia.

Cancer patients who are suspected cases of COVID-19 have to wait for 7-10 days because they are waiting for the results of the COVID-19 swab test, even two weeks. While waiting for the test results, medical personnel cannot take action on cancer patients.

For cancer patients, one week is very crucial, some patients can die before the results of the swab come out.

"From March to April, at that time we (medical officers) had limited PPE, we had limited knowledge, limited swab tests. So that we are like going through a forest but don't have a flashlight, we can only grope, "said Doctor Jaka.

"Now we are entering an era where, thank God, we are better prepared. Because our weapons (in the Jakarta area in particular) are also quite complete, "he continued.

Doctor Jaka emphasized that cancer patients no longer feel afraid to go to the hospital. Later, the doctor who will determine the control schedule will meet in person and / or who can be done online.