Prostate Cancer Radiation Treatment and Covid19 Virus

In the wake of the COVID-19 virus outbreak in many areas of the world, many health-related decisions have to be made to protect cancer patients from contracting this viral infection during their treatment, especially with a vulnerable population who have cancer knowing that their immune system can be compromised and if they become infected with the Covid19 virus, they can develop all the Coronavirus complications and develop a serious respiratory illness from the virus infection.

 

This article explores scientific recommendations written by Dr Spratt D at the University of Michigan Cancer Centre in the United States with the collaboration of many radiation oncologists dealing with Prostate Cancer

 

This article draft proposes these recommendations to the Radiation Oncologists when treating patients with Prostate Cancer:

 -  Clinical visits for patients with Prostate Cancer before or after starting the Radiation Therapy can be changed to remote visits using telemedicine without the need to be physically available to conduct a clinic visit as the risk of contracting the coronavirus during these visits outweighs the value of the physical exam.

-   If Radiation Therapy is optional (such as in cases of low-risk prostate cancer in the elderly population with poor performance), it is better to avoid that option to avoid contacting people with COVID-19 or spreading the COVID-19 virus to others if the patient is a carrier or showing the infection symptoms.

-   Delaying the radiation therapy treatment if the Prostate Cancer is of a slowly growing nature, and Treatment can wait for several weeks, as here the risk of contracting the coronavirus outweighs the benefits from earlier treatment start.

-  Shortening the treatment duration. With the high success rates of Hypofractionation  Radiation treatments using a higher radiation dose per fraction and a less overall number of fractions,  so reducing the overall time of the hospital visits for radiation treatment will limit their exposure to many people during the radiation therapy.

 

In the end, I guess they are very useful recommendations, especially with the existence of the COVID-19 virus in almost every country and city of the world, and as you see from these recommendations, there is a thin line between treatment and no treatment especially in the Low-Risk Prostate Cancer Patients when the patient can choose between the wait and see policy or an immediate radiation therapy treatment. Given the fact that the COVID-19 virus has a high spread rate and dire consequences, medical doctors and especially oncologists should do whatever it takes to limit the spread and aggressiveness of this virus.

 

If you have any questions you can contact  me with one of these links

https://www.ontarionaturopathicclinic.ca/site/contact-naturpathicdr-toronto     For Toronto residents

https://www.ontarionaturopathicclinic.ca/site/contact-naturpathic-dr-grimsby-niagara    For Hamilton Grimsby and Niagara Region residents