Fear of contracting COVID-19 has led to a decrease in new cancer patients referred to Groote Schuur Hospital in the last two months and a decrease in those going for chemotherapy. The Weekend Argus quotes Professor Francois Malherbe, clinical lead at the hospital’s diagnostic breast clinic as saying that breast cancer in all patients might be overlooked during the pandemic.
“Our clinics are open for patients with palpable lumps only. The reason for having smaller clinics is because it’s impossible to practise social distancing in large outpatient clinics,” said Malherbe. Many of the clinic’s patients are afraid to visit the hospital and are postponing going to see their doctors, he said. “Patients who already had chemotherapy for aggressive cancers are refusing their surgery at the moment because they’re scared of coming to the hospital,” he added.
Head of radiation oncology at the hospital, Professor Jeannette Parkes, said a fear of the coronavirus saw a decrease in the number of new cancer patients referred to them in the last two months. She added they had not been doing any routine follow-ups since lockdown.
Health specialist at the Cancer Association of South Africa, Professor Michael Herbst, said there were cases of cancer treatment being postponed or delayed because of unavailability of infrastructure. “Fear is always a factor in health-seeking behaviour, especially among men.”
[link url="https://www.iol.co.za/weekend-argus/news/fear-of-contracting-covid-19-delaying-cancer-patients-treatment-at-groote-schuur-50393084"]Full Weekend Argus report[/link]