In the study, researchers from the University of North Carolina Lineberger Comprehensive Cancer Center in Chapel Hill looked at the behavior of 4,428 U.S. adults, including cancer survivors, during one week in late April and one week in early May during the COVID-19 pandemic. The study showed that cancer survivors were more likely than other adults to practice social distancing, wear a face mask, and avoid crowded areas. The study also showed that 44 percent of cancer survivors said they canceled doctors’ appointments, suggesting that patients are not going to the doctor’s office or hospital because they fear COVID-19 infection, says the presenting author, Jessica Islam, PhD, a cancer epidemiologist at the UNC Lineberger Comprehensive Cancer Center. Despite taking these precautions to avoid infection, however, cancer survivors were more likely to report COVID-19-related symptoms compared with other adults in the study. The researchers did not say why cancer survivors might be more vulnerable to the virus. RELATED: When Treatment Is Over: Actor Sterling K. Brown Puts a Spotlight on Life After Cancer
Missed Medical Care: A Casualty of COVID-19
The cancellation of doctors’ appointments designed to provide continuity of care is of concern, says Dr. Islam. The study, she says, “reflects the potential miscommunication between Centers for Disease Control and Prevention recommendations, which recommend avoiding going to the hospital and the clinic for nonessential visits, and how the public may perceive those recommendations.” Healthcare professionals should strive to improve communication with patients to help them determine which healthcare appointments are important to adhere to and which may be reasonably postponed, she says. “We, as physicians and providers and public health practitioners can improve our communication,” Islam said. More than 17 million Americans are cancer survivors, according to government statistics cited by editors in the April 2020 issue of the Journal of Cancer Survivorship, and two-thirds of cancer survivors are age 65 or older. There is still little other research describing the impact of the pandemic on cancer survivors, however, the article noted. RELATED: COVID-19 Pandemic Is Negatively Impacting Cancer Screening
