KIMT News 3 - We've been hearing so much about people with underlying health conditions being especially vulnerable to the coronavirus. For people suffering from cancer, it can be especially frightening.
On Wednesday afternoon, Mayo Clinic had some advice for cancer patients and their caregivers for navigating the uncertanties of COVID-19.
"It has had a profound effect on all of us especially on the cancer patients," said Dr. Gerardo Colon-Otero.
Patients who do get their treatments done at the Mayo Clinic should not be worried about contracting COVID-19 at the hospital. Dr. Colon-Otero says Mayo is a safe place to be.
"We screen all of our patients and providers before they come into the building to make sure they don't have any evidence of infection," he said.
People with weakened immune systems are more likely to be impacted by coronavirus. Many cancer patients also have underlying health conditions that make them especially vulnerable. The doctor says science still has many questions that need to be answered when it comes to COVID-19 and cancer.
"Whether the cancer is really a reason for increased mortality from COVID-19 is not totally confirmed, there are some studies that suggest that is the case."
Caregivers are also feeling the strain of the pandemic, worried their loved ones coud become the next coronavirus statistic. The best advice to ease the anxiety is to unplug from the media for a while.
"YouTube puts out every day 400 million hours worth of content and that's just one platform. So we're really barraged with information that we're trying to sift through and that we might have a emotional reaction to," said Kristin Lothman, an integrative health specialist with Mayo Clinic.
