Cancer patients are also at risk of coronavirus infection. Among them, the group that requires special attention are people with weakened immunity, blood cancers, receiving active chemotherapy and patients after bone marrow transplantation.
Cancer patients are at risk of developing the coronavirus. Cancer centers reacted to this situation - in Poland they introduced a total ban on visiting patients and changes in follow-up visits.
Why these precautions? Well, cytotoxic drugs used in chemotherapy also reduce the production of white blood cells, which are responsible for the functioning of the immune system and fighting infection. As a result of oncological therapy, the patient becomes more susceptible to infections, not only with the coronavirus, but also with other viruses, e.g. influenza.
A group that requires special precautions are, inter alia, immunocompromised patients, hemato-oncological neoplasms, undergoing chemotherapy treatment and after bone marrow transplantation.
Experts advise oncological patients to avoid visits to shops, pharmacies, participation in mass events, visits to he alth care clinics or hospitals, unless the situation absolutely requires it.
People staying at home with an oncologically ill person should also take care of he alth and hygiene. If one of the household members becomes ill, they should wear a protective mask, and an oncological patient should have a separate set of cutlery and tableware. The patient's brush should be separate.
You should disinfect common areas, e.g. light switches, remote controls, door handles.
It is important to wash your hands frequently and thoroughly.
The risk of contracting coronavirus in people who have already completed cancer therapy in the past and have beaten the cancer does not differ from the rate for the rest of society.
Together Against Coronavirus
dr Janusz Meder
Cancer patients, especially those who receive intensive combined treatment such as surgery, radiotherapy and chemotherapy, must protect themselves against coronavirus infection as well as against other infections.
Immunity is compromised in most chemotherapy and immunotherapy programs: the cells of the immune systemfunction less efficiently, because the disease itself reduces the effectiveness of the immune system and, additionally, anti-cancer treatment lowers them.
People diagnosed with neoplasms of the haematopoietic and lymphatic systems (leukemias, lymphomas, myelomas) undergoing multi-drug therapy and after bone marrow transplants, and the majority of patients over 60 years of age, are particularly vulnerable. Therefore, a person suffering from cancer is always subject to a sanitary regime.
At the moment, we do not have experience with the coronavirus, there are studies of small groups of patients in the USA, which say that specific risk factors for cancer patients in the face of coronavirus are: additional chronic diseases (diabetes, hypertension, lung diseases, liver and cardiovascular or endocrine system), age - over 50 years of age, the number of lymphocytes less than 1500 in a microlitre and a higher level of serum ferritin, exceeding 400 ng per ml. Such patients with 3-4 factors were more often (70%) subjected to intubation and aggressive actions in intensive care.
This shows that patients who are not burdened with additional diseases can practically live and heal themselves, so far, even in a day hospital, they only have to follow the rules - washing their hands with soap (approx. 1 minute), thorough wiping with a paper towel and then hand disinfection, etc.
Besides, like everyone in the current situation, they must avoid crowds of people and contact with sick people. They must not stop treatment or delay treatment until they are diagnosed with the coronavirus.
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