Kumar Divyesh, Dey Treshita
Department of Radiotherapy and Oncology, PGIMER, Chandigarh, India.
J Patient Exp. 2022 Mar 30;9:23743735221089696. doi: 10.1177/23743735221089696. eCollection 2022.
During the period (2019-2021), the coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) spread rapidly and caused massive mortality worldwide. Patients with decreased immunity such as cancer patients remained at a high risk of getting an infection because of compromised immunity. Also, as per literature, advanced age and comorbidities further added to the risk of getting the COVID-19 infection in patients undergoing radiation/chemotherapy. The very thoughts of disease progression and treatment delays, which were among the major patient concerns during this period, lead to an environment of fear among cancer patients and their caregivers. To combat it, besides amendments in treatment policies, effective communication with patients and their caregivers was essential. The article thus aims to overview the various concerns of the patients and highlight the potential role that health-related communication played during the 2 phases of the COVID-19 pandemic.
在2019年至2021年期间，2019冠状病毒病（COVID-19）迅速传播，在全球范围内造成了大量死亡。免疫力下降的患者，如癌症患者，由于免疫力受损，仍然面临着很高的感染风险。此外，根据文献，高龄和合并症进一步增加了接受放疗/化疗的患者感染COVID-19的风险。在这一时期，疾病进展和治疗延误是患者主要担忧的问题，这些担忧导致癌症患者及其护理人员产生恐惧情绪。为了应对这一情况，除了修订治疗政策外，与患者及其护理人员进行有效沟通至关重要。因此，本文旨在概述患者的各种担忧，并强调在COVID-19大流行的两个阶段中，健康相关沟通所发挥的潜在作用。
