You should have your symptoms checked out early. These symptoms may include blood in stools, new breast lumps, unusual swelling of the lymph glands, etc. As with all cancers, the key is discovering the cancer early for more effective treatment. Pushing back clinical visits may result in undue delay in the diagnosis which may then impact on the outcomes of patients, should these symptoms really turn out to be cancerous. Take the necessary health precautions when going for screening.

Lung cancer patients are NOT more susceptible to the virus, but if they get it, they are more likely to get complications from it because of their underlying disease. Because of their risk of experiencing complications, lung cancer patients should be extremely vigilant about preventing the disease.

Lung cancer patients can protect themselves by following guidelines published by health and government authorities. This includes wearing a mask when going out, practicing social distancing (e.g. stay at home as much as possible, avoid crowds, and public transportation), practice frequent hand washing with soap (especially before handling food or eating, after going to the toilet, or after coughing or sneezing), and avoiding close contact with people who are unwell or showing symptoms of illness.

Treatment of patients with ongoing chemotherapy, oral medications and immunotherapy should continue as planned. This will help to ensure minimal disruption of the intended treatment of cancer. Concurrently, measures are being instituted in every hospital to ensure adequate screening of all patients and visitors, to allow detection of any possible infection and minimise possible spread of COVID-19. Similarly, to help contain possible infection, doctors and nurses are encouraged to minimise movement between different hospitals.

Cancer patients who are currently receiving treatment for cancer:

For this group of patients, they should continue their treatment on time as advised. Take the necessary precautions as listed above, observe personal hygiene, hand washing, wear a mask, etc. While the natural inclination is to avoid going to hospitals and clinics, this risk is deemed to be very small when compared to the bigger issue of the cancer worsening or a relapse, should treatment be delayed unnecessarily.

Patients who had cancer, had been treated, and now in remission:

This group of patients have some flexibility in terms of scheduling of clinical visits. For them, it is not unreasonable to delay the routine appointments to a slightly later date.