Cancer and the Coronavirus

For some people, the measures being taken to stop the spread of coronavirus seem extreme and for others who are immunocompromised they seem too little too late. There is a lot of fear, anger, uncertainty, and blame being passed around almost as quickly as this deadly virus is being spread. The difference is, all of those emotions can be spread behind a keyboard in a quarantined house, while we stop the spread of the coronavirus by quarantining.

As someone who just finished Chemo treatment, my immune system is compromised and I am fearful about catching this nasty virus, because I am the weak that it will not only infect but kill. I have ton some research and talked to doctors during my visits help you all understand what this pandemic means for those of us with cancer and how you can help us stay healthy.

Certain cancer patients are more susceptible to contracting coronavirus than others. The CDC is closely monitoring COVID-19 and releasing new information every day which can be overwhelming, but the main takeaway is isolation and sanitation are best practices for everyone right now, even if you are healthy.

Cancer patients undergoing treatment are at the highest risk for contracting the virus. However, these are also the patients who are having to frequent treatment centers, doctors’ offices, and hospitals opening them up to further risk. One way to mitigate the risk is to not allow visitors into these areas and no more than one caregiver.

Not all cancers are considered equal when it comes to the coronavirus spread, cancer patients undergoing treatment, with lung cancer, history of bone marrow transplant, and blood cancers are at the highest risk. This is not to incite panic, or tell cancer patients to stop treatment, this is to inform that we have to be a little bit more cautious than the average person.

Since we do not have the luxury to stay home in a simple quarantine and need to fuel our bodies with food (some of us every two hours), we ask you able bodied, healthy people, to chill out and stay home. Oh.. and STOP HOARDING EVERYTHING. #Rude

Stay Home and Wash Your Hands

There are tons of delivery services that will deliver groceries, food, clothes, workout equipment, and anything your heart desires. Stay home. Please, I beg you, stay home. Now, I am not going to remind you to wash your hands and stop touching your face…. But seriously, were you all not washing your hands before this? Do you know how acne happens? WASH YOUR HANDS AND STOP TOUCHING YOUR FACE… ya nasty.

Clean Everything

Anyway, I will remind you to clean and disinfect frequently touched objects, like reusable water bottles, door handles, faucets, fridge handles, car handles, steering wheels, and of course, your cell phones. Please clean and disinfect your cell phone regularly. Your cell phone comes in contact with everything your hands do. So, if you are washing your hands regularly and then touching your phone that you didn’t sanitize, you are basically not washing your hands.

STAY HOME if you do not feel well

I will also remind you to stay home if you are sick or have been around anyone who is sick. I personally feel like people are not taking this seriously and blaming everything on allergies. Not everything is allergies. You could have an infection, cold, or virus. Take your temperature twice daily and monitor your health.

Sleep

Lastly, sleep is some of the best medicine to help prevent and cure illness. Please make sure you are getting ample amount of sleep during this quarantine. This isn’t college, you do not have three massive tests coming up, there is no reason to pull an all-nighter. Unless you are curing cancer or creating a cure/vaccine for COVID-19, get some sleep.