This was passed on directly by one of the breast cancer survivors, Estriningsih. He said she had to postpone treatment earlier because he was a Covid-19 positive patient.
Estriningsih has survived stage 3A breast cancer since November 2020. This forced her to undergo mastectomy and chemotherapy treatment 6 times, followed by 18 treatments. However, this has been delayed.
“The treatment should have been finished sooner, but due to Covid-19 it was delayed,” Estri said on a talk show hosted by the Cancer Information and Support Center (CISC).
according to dr. Jeffry Beta Tenggara, Sp.PD-KHOM, Cancer patients have lower immunity. Therefore, they are less able to fight off disease and infection, including the Covid-19 virus.
“Exposure to Covid-19 will be a problem for patients with blood cancers such as leukemia, lymphoma. Cancer patients undergoing chemotherapy are also a vulnerable group,” said Dr Jeffrey.
Dr Jeffry added that if a cancer patient is exposed to the Covid-19 virus, the cancer treatment they are undertaking should be temporarily stopped. This is to avoid unwanted things.
For vulnerable groups, protection against Covid-19 can be done by administering active or passive vaccinations. This is useful to prevent patients from contracting severe transmission of Covid-19.
“Active vaccination follows the government schedule, while monoclonal antibodies can be given every 6 months as long as they are in a susceptible population. Cancer patients undergoing chemotherapy may not have enough antibody protection, so we will add them from the outside to increase supplies against Covid-19,” said Dr. Jeffrey.
Treatment of Covid-19 in cancer patients is no different from others. However, more monitoring is needed considering that cancer patients have a vulnerable body condition.
Dr. Jeffrey also added that preventing the contraction of Covid-19 for cancer patients was also no different. 3M implementations, such as washing hands, wearing masks and keeping distance, can help patients avoid the virus.
Aulia Putriningias
(FIR)
