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Sokas C, Kelly M, Sheu C, et al. Cancer in the Shadow of COVID: Early-Stage Breast and Prostate Cancer Patient Perspectives on Surgical Delays Due to COVID-19. Ann Surg Oncol. 2021;28(13):8688-8696doi: 10.1245/s10434-021-10319-0.
Sokas, C., Kelly, M., Sheu, C., Song, J., Welch, H. G., Bergmark, R., Minami, C., & Trinh, Q. D. (2021). Cancer in the Shadow of COVID: Early-Stage Breast and Prostate Cancer Patient Perspectives on Surgical Delays Due to COVID-19. Annals of surgical oncology, 28(13), 8688-8696. https://doi.org/10.1245/s10434-021-10319-0
Sokas, Claire, et al. "Cancer in the Shadow of COVID: Early-Stage Breast and Prostate Cancer Patient Perspectives on Surgical Delays Due to COVID-19." Annals of surgical oncology vol. 28,13 (2021): 8688-8696. doi: https://doi.org/10.1245/s10434-021-10319-0
Sokas C, Kelly M, Sheu C, Song J, Welch HG, Bergmark R, Minami C, Trinh QD. Cancer in the Shadow of COVID: Early-Stage Breast and Prostate Cancer Patient Perspectives on Surgical Delays Due to COVID-19. Ann Surg Oncol. 2021 Dec;28(13):8688-8696. doi: 10.1245/s10434-021-10319-0. Epub 2021 Jun 25. PMID: 34170430; PMCID: PMC8231084.
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Ann Surg Oncol. 2021 Dec;28(13):8688-8696. doi: 10.1245/s10434-021-10319-0. Epub 2021 Jun 25.

Cancer in the Shadow of COVID: Early-Stage Breast and Prostate Cancer Patient Perspectives on Surgical Delays Due to COVID-19.

Annals of surgical oncology

Claire Sokas, Masami Kelly, Christina Sheu, Julia Song, H Gilbert Welch, Regan Bergmark, Christina Minami, Quoc-Dien Trinh

Affiliations

  1. Department of Surgery, Center for Surgery and Public Health, Brigham and Woman's Hospital, Boston, MA, USA. [email protected].
  2. Department of Surgery, Center for Surgery and Public Health, Brigham and Woman's Hospital, Boston, MA, USA.
  3. Harvard Medical School, Boston, MA, USA.
  4. Division of Otolaryngology, Brigham and Women's Hospital, Boston, MA, USA.
  5. Division of Breast Surgery, Brigham and Women's Hospital, Boston, MA, USA.
  6. Division of Urology, Brigham and Women's Hospital, Boston, MA, USA.

PMID: 34170430 PMCID: PMC8231084 DOI: 10.1245/s10434-021-10319-0

Abstract

BACKGROUND: During the height of the coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) pandemic, elective surgeries, including oncologic surgeries, were delayed. Little prospective data existed to guide practice, and professional surgical societies issued recommendations grounded mainly in common sense and expert consensus, such as medical therapy for early-stage breast and prostate cancer patients. To understand the patient experience of delay in cancer surgery during the pandemic, we interviewed breast and prostate cancer patients whose surgeries were delayed due to the pandemic.

PATIENTS AND METHODS: Patients with early-stage breast or prostate cancer who suffered surgical postponement at Brigham and Women's Hospital (BWH) were invited to participate. Semi-structured telephone interviews were conducted with 21 breast and prostate cancer patients. Interviews were transcribed, and qualitative analysis using ground-theory approach was performed.

RESULTS: Most patients reported significant distress due to cancer and COVID. Key themes that emerged included the lack of surprise and acceptance of the surgical delays but endorsed persistent cancer- and delay-related worries. Satisfaction with patient-physician communication and the availability of a delay strategy were key factors in patients' acceptance of the situation; perceived lack of communication prompted a few patients to seek care elsewhere.

DISCUSSION: The clinical effect of delay in cancer surgery will take years to fully understand, but there are immediate steps that can be taken to improve the patient experience of delays in care, including elicitation of individual patient perspectives and ongoing communication. More work is needed to understand the wider experiences of patients, especially minority, socioeconomically disadvantaged, and uninsured patients, who encounter delays in oncologic care.

© 2021. Society of Surgical Oncology.

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