Almost 18,000 more people could die from cancer over the next year in England because of the impact of COVID-19, new research suggests.
It has prompted NHS clinical director for cancer, Professor Peter Johnson, to declare that "cancer treatment hasn't stopped" because of coronavirus and he is urging people with cancer symptoms not to delay in seeking medical help...
Comparing the data from 3.5 million patients, the report's authors estimated that pre-COVID-19, about 31,354 newly diagnosed cancer patients would die within a year in England.
But as a result of coronavirus, they found there could be at least 6,270 extra deaths in newly diagnosed cancer patients - a rise of a fifth.
4 comments:
It has prompted NHS clinical director for cancer, Professor Peter Johnson, to declare that "cancer treatment hasn't stopped"
because of coronavirus
Well, some certainly has. My mother in law was being seen for a type of skin cancer on her scalp. Her GP seemed quite concerned as it was coupled with persistent earache. All now cancelled, with no indication of when the next appointment will be.
Another interesting anecdote. I'm a hospital driver, and take (mainly rural elderly) people to their appointments. Some were cancer treatments. All the trips have dried up now. The last one was taking an elderly lady to the local health centre to have stitches removed after a knee replacement. The health centre was like Fort Knox, with big signs telling people to go home and a jerry-rigged hatch for dispensing medicines. After we phoned to notify staff we had arrived, and waited for an hour, a nurse came out and removed the stitches in the car park. The patient sat sideways in my car, the nurse knelt in the gravel and cigarette ends. I wandered around the car park, thinking gloomy thoughts...
That's a sad story Sam.
Of course priorities have changed, but if they can contain Covid patients rather like they did in the last century, with sanatoria, isolation hospitals etc, (Nightingale Hospitals) the way forward for normal hospital visits may well start soon.
You are correct Sam, my BIL was due to start treatment for liver cancer over three weeks ago has been put on hold and heard nothing since, he had already had a postponement, and they cannot get anything other than, 'we will contact you as soon as is feasible'.
Sam - I'm not surprised you were thinking gloomy thoughts. That would be "our" NHS of course, the one we clap later today.
Scrobs - without good inside information it isn't easy to know what the best solutions might be, but ICU facilities seem to be at the heart of it.
Wiggia - these problems are bound to mount up too. Not good.
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