NBC Information lately interviewed Heather McArthur, MD, a breast medical oncologist at Cedars-Sinai Most cancers, and her affected person, Shanti Stappas, about receiving most cancers care amidst the coronavirus pandemic.
For Stappas, who was identified with HER2-positive breast most cancers in January 2020 and is being cared for by McArthur, delaying therapy wasn’t a viable possibility.
“It was arduous sufficient for me to come back to phrases with the truth that I wanted to regulate my life-style being on chemo,” mentioned Stappas. “However then having to regulate my life-style being on chemo and social distancing to the diploma that I’ve needed to was one thing that was, it took me some time to come back to phrases with.”
Nevertheless, earlier than Stappas started therapy, McArthur deliberate fastidiously as a result of some most cancers therapies also can weaken immune programs, making sufferers vulnberable to COVID-19.
“I’m seeing in actual time that we are able to get our most cancers sufferers by way of the therapies they want with very particular precautions,” mentioned McArthur. “And I’m very optimistic in regards to the outcomes of our sufferers.”
As she shared with NBC Information, Stappas’ recommendation to different most cancers sufferers is to not hesitate to ask questions and belief your docs and the solutions and steerage they offer.
“I strongly encourage anybody who suspects they may have most cancers to get in contact with their physicians, as the usage of telemedicine or different accessible physical-distancing instruments will permit them to get medical assist instantly,” mentioned Dan Theodorescu, MD, PhD, director of Cedars-Sinai Most cancers. “We have now programs in place to make sure that each affected person is safely taken care of throughout this difficult time.”
Click here to observe the entire story from NBC Information.
Learn extra on the Cedars-Sinai Weblog: Going to the Doctor During COVID-19: What You Need to Know.
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