Changes to Ovarian Cancer Treatment Due to COVID-19
- Due to the pandemic, new approaches in treating ovarian cancer are being explored in real time
- Because surgery increases the risk of infection, chemo given before surgery is being considered more often to treat advanced ovarian cancers
- Visits to a chemotherapy center, along with regular blood draws, also pose an exposure risk
Many hospitals and providers are being asked to postpone surgery, including surgeries that would normally be scheduled fairly quickly, for two reasons: first, to conserve and redirect medical equipment and PPE to the front lines of critical patient care, and also to reduce the risk of coronavirus spread.
Read MoreChemotherapy can also suppress the immune system, leaving a patient more vulnerable to infection and associated complications.
Another option, says Dr. Hanna, is to "postpone and reevaluate everything" based on how the next month or so unfolds.
Physicians agree that there's no easy answer in determining if a surgery can be delayed, and if it is delayed, when it will be rescheduled. The question becomes, what is the risk of doing surgeryor chemotherapynow in this environment versus waiting until some future point in time? "We don't want to endanger a cure by delaying treatment," says one doctor. It's a case by case decision.
"If we do postpone surgery," says Dr. Hanna, "our administrators have let us know that cancer patients would get preference in terms of scheduling."
Learn more about SurvivorNet's rigorous medical review process.