Special Considerations during the Pandemic
Chemotherapy- Make sure patients are tested for COVID-19 prior to beginning chemotherapy treatment and periodically during the weeks or months of treatment
- Make sure all providers who come in contact with patients are tested frequently
- Consider whether a patient will need to be admitted to the intensive care unit after surgery
- Consider whether a patient will be able to return directly home after surgery or will need to transition to a nursing facility first
Precautions for Patients during Chemotherapy
Read MoreExtra Considerations with Surgery
Dr. Eskander says that physicians also need to think about issues surrounding surgery and how these factors might be affected by the pandemic. For instance, what are the chances that a patient will need to be admitted to the intensive care unit after surgery, and would that be considered more risky during the pandemic? Or what if a patientbecause of living alone, other health issues or frailtymight not be able to go directly home after hospitalization, and will need interim care in a nursing facility? Is that an extra risk worth taking? "We really need to be very thoughtful about the implications of these subsequent steps," says Dr. Eskander.
During the pandemic, as always, doctors must make treatment decisions on a case-by-case basis. But whatever the decisionsurgery first or neoadjuvant chemotherapya changing medical landscape brought on by COVID-19 are now part of treatment considerations.
Dr. Eskander says the pandemic is an opportunity for medicine to grow and develop its ability to tailor treatment for ovarian cancer in the context of COVID-19. "To make sure," he says, "that our patients are taken care of."
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