‘Almost one year into the pandemic, many of the fears harbored by oncologists like me have been fully realized in clinical practice. Apart from felling scores of cancer patients, the virus has upended cancer diagnosis, treatment and research. Covid-19 attacks the lungs, of course, but it also disrupts other organs — and really, entire health systems. By now, Covid has been linked to heart disease, diabetes, stroke, low blood cell counts and psychiatric conditions.
Cancer patients possess little resistance against Covid-19. The older you get, the higher your cancer risk. But advanced age is also a risk factor for coronavirus. Metabolic disorders associated with cancer, like obesity, high blood pressure and diabetes, add further vulnerability.
A study in the JCO Global Oncology journal examined how patients diagnosed with Covid-19 during the early portion of the pandemic fared in Asia, Europe and the United States. It showed that patients with cancer had worse outcomes (greater need for ICU admission and higher mortality) than those without cancer.’
Read More: Covid's impact on cancer care is turning oncologists' worst fears into reality (nbcnews.com)