Recommencing normal hospital treatment for cancer patients

That as soon as is safely possible the NHS should allow those patients already being under investigation, where their treatment had been suspended due to the Covid-19 outbreak, to be seen again as soon as possible. We are repeatedly told that the NHS is open for business, but for those already in the system it is effectively closed.

Why the contribution is important

In most cases it is quite simply a matter of life and death if the treatment is not started up again soon.

by THREEINAROW868788 on May 05, 2020 at 06:40PM

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Average rating: 4.9
Based on: 70 votes

Comments

  • Posted by Engineer May 05, 2020 at 19:02

    I agree with you. This can happen if the newly available antibody test is used wisely to enable conventional NHS services to be initially staffed by those who are confirmed to have had COVID-19 and, therefore, unlikely to spread or catch the disease, with priority given to those in most clinical need such as cancer patients and anyone needing urgent operations. I have made a wider posting about using the antibody test for other categories of worker once the NHS is up and running again.

  • Posted by Teresa May 05, 2020 at 20:45

    We need to take a broader look at health than purely the coronavirus. The long term impact in lost years of healthy life may be greater than the years lost to covid because we are not operating a normal health service.

  • Posted by lindyloo May 05, 2020 at 20:56

    It seems the only illness the government cares about is coronavirus. Cancer, mental health problems have been pushed to the back of the queue. More people will die due to lockdown than from coronavirus itself. It doesn't help that doctors and nurses are doing tv interviews saying how exhausted they are. It puts people off getting help.

  • Posted by ImranL May 05, 2020 at 22:14

    Cancer services need to restart. There are individuals with curable cancers who with further delays may become terminal ill if not treated with best practice. All patients need to be screened for active Covid19 prior to surgery or treatment. However, cancer surgery has to restart

  • Posted by MonkeyK May 06, 2020 at 20:44

    I am really worried about those people who have had cancer treatment delayed / stopped due to Coronavirus. The long term population impacts could be much worse if this type of treatment doesn’t start up again soon.

  • Posted by StoryTeller May 07, 2020 at 14:35

    Yes I agree that cancer services are essential. For those who have already had cancer, there is frequently the nagging feeling that it may come back somewhere else, and if symptoms occur that are concerning someone, they may not feel able to get help, or may be afraid to go into hospital for operation /follow up treatments for fear of contracting the virus. Cancer does not get better by neglecting it. It is worrying that if people leave it too long without being seen to, the condition may worsen and require much more intervention - which may cost more to the health services at the same time.

  • Posted by JojoA May 08, 2020 at 17:36

    Everything has been said by the other contributors.
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