Editor’s Pick: MASCC Members Publish “Uncertainty upon uncertainty: supportive care for cancer and Covid-19” in the MASCC Journal Supportive Care in Cancer
MASCC members recently published the article “Uncertainty upon uncertainty: supportive care for cancer and COVID-19” in the MASCC journal Supportive Care in Cancer. The article addresses the significant negative impact of the current pandemic on the lives of people with cancer, including the struggle to apply data to real-world oncology practice, the heightened uncertainty of cancer patients over the risk of contracting the infection and not being able to receive the recommended cancer treatment, and the adverse effects of COVID-19 on the social support network of cancer patients.
Summary information from the article includes: Pandemics thrive on social inequalities and for disadvantaged people with cancer, with or without COVID-19, huge social, psychological and physical consequences may persist for many months or maybe years. “Supportive care makes excellent cancer care possible,” the tagline for MASCC, has never been more relevant as increased stressors threaten the wellbeing of people worldwide with cancer, their caregivers and healthcare professionals. People with cancer may have built resilience to cope with its uncertainty; however, this resilience may be overwhelmed by competing fears for self and loved ones and by the variability of available psychosocial support from cancer institutions, cancer charities and global aid organizations. In this editorial, we focus on the multi-pronged psychosocial ramifications of COVID-19 for people with cancer and their caregivers and suggest diverse integrated support mechanisms to mitigate the challenges.
MASCC member authors are Annie M. Young, Fredrick D. Ashbury, Lidia Schapira, Florian Scotté, Carla I Ripamonti, and Ian N. Olver. To read the complete article, click here.
