Continuing cancer care in a religious facility: A feasible alternative in the COVID-19 Pandemic Era?

The advent of the COVID-19 pandemic has stretched most healthcare systems to the point that if no adaptations are made, failure will most likely happen. The Philippine healthcare system, with its meager resources, is very much vulnerable to this. During the start of the pandemic, Bataan General Hospital and Medical Center has been converted to a COVID-19 hub, leaving cancer care and treatment displaced. We describe our experience in the feasibility of using a religious facility as an interim place for continuing oncology treatment. An outpatient chemotherapy unit was set up using the main hall of the Residencia Sacerdotal, a religious facility, in Bataan. General practices for infection control, workflow and service delivery were in accordance with existing guidelines. A total of 56 adult patients and 22 pediatric patients were seen for chemotherapy during the period of April 28 to July 15, 2020. A total of 144 chemotherapy sessions for adults and 190 sessions for pediatric patients were done. Fifty nine patients (43 adults and 16 pediatric) were tested for COVID-19 RT PCR (GeneXpert®), as baseline prior to chemotherapy, and all were negative. During the course of treatment, adverse events were noted including infusion reactions, hematologic complications which resolved without any complications. No nosocomial infection was recorded both for patients and healthcare workers. To conclude, in the COVID-19 Pandemic Era adapting to the situation is the best way forward. In our setting, continuing cancer care in a religious facility is a feasible alternative.