Coronavirus Could Upend Cancer Trends in the U.S.

Liz Satterfield has a ritual for every time she returns home after leaving the house. Diagnosed with metastatic breast cancer in 2016, the Kirkland, Washington resident recently learned that the cancer that had spread to her brain in 2018 was still growing. Throughout the pandemic, she’s had to visit the hospital at least once every three weeks, often more frequently, for treatments to control her disease. “I have a pair of shoes in a paper bag that I keep in the trunk of my car or a rack in the garage. I only wear those shoes when I’m going in to get treatment,” she says. “When I come home, I strip in the garage and put everything right in the wash. I don’t enter the house with anything that I was wearing at the cancer center. It’s the way I’m able to control what I can control in this situation, and gave my partner and me some peace of mind.” While COVID-19 has upended everyone’s life, the novel coronavirus’ impact on cancer patients is especially disruptive. Any infectious disease that taxes the immune system is high on their must-avoid list—especially for those getting chemotherapy or radiation treatments, both of which can weaken natural defenses. So that leaves cancer patients caught in the middle of two terrifying diseases. Nearly 17 million people in the U.S. are living with cancer, many of whom, like Satterfield, are currently being treated for their disease, and forced to make these difficult c...
Source: TIME: Health - Category: Consumer Health News Authors: Tags: Uncategorized COVID-19 Source Type: news