Summary:
Patient advocate and cancer warrior, Megan-Claire Chase, describes how the coronavirus pandemic has made living as a cancer patient even more difficult. She explains from her personal experience how the uncertainty, grief, and anxiety that patients already feel has been intensified as COVID-19 has dominated life these past few months. In particular, she highlights the toll that isolation and lack of socialization can have during the pandemic as well as in “normal” times for cancer patients.
COVID-19 and Cancer Collide:
There is a feeling of communal grief spanning the world due to the Coronavirus pandemic. In some ways, the entire world gets to experience what it’s like for cancer patients for months or years on end due to toxic treatments and being immunocompromised.
When you add cancer into the mix of a novel pandemic, the fear, frustration, uncertainty, and grief is amplified. It’s already terrifying to receive a cancer diagnosis. Once you are diagnosed as a cancer patient and go through the flood of emotions that come with that, it takes an even bigger toll on your mental health when treatments and surgeries are delayed.
There is already an uncertainty of the future once you are diagnosed with cancer. Many are filled with anxiety or depression because the cancer journey isn’t over once you are declared as “no evidence of disease” (NED). What’s not talked about are the different losses that are forced upon you as a cancer patient, survivor, or cancer-haver (metastatic) that COVID-19 has now made it even more difficult to process.
Cancer and COVID-19 have collided, and the losses are felt by those in Cancerland.
Loss of Celebration
Going through chemotherapy is beyond challenging. What pushes a cancer patient to keep going and willing their bodies to be strong to complete all the treatments ordered is knowing there is an end date for their chemo treatments. You count down the days even as you grow weaker. Some hospitals have a bell that patients can ring on their last day of chemo while others do not. It’s a huge moment to reach the end of treatment. Many have friends in the waiting room or have one friend or family member in the infusion room with balloons and signs because it is a huge deal to celebrate making it to that last treatment.
During this time of COVID-19, there are no big celebrations in the infusion room. There are no family members and friends in the waiting room ready to cheer for you when you walk out or are wheeled out. Instead, patients are having to start their chemo treatments alone. When they finish their grueling treatments, they are alone. No one can be with them in the infusion room and no one can be in the waiting room. The feeling of wanting to celebrate these monumental moments has been deflated by COVID-19. It also mentally deflates the mind because that expectation to celebrate with friends and family for making it past the finished mark is nonexistent.
Loss of Socialization
There is a definite feeling of isolation both mentally and physically when going through cancer. To protect one’s immune system means distancing oneself from the public. Trips to the grocery store are limited. There is no going out to eat at favorite restaurants. There is no hanging out with the girls or the guys and having fun. There’s no going to concerts or other events. We are forced to accept those limitations because it’s temporary. Then COVID-19 hit and socializing in person went out the window.
It has become even more apparent how much humans need touch and social interaction to thrive during this pandemic. Having to quarantine can get old and the routines in the household become different with your family, but what happens to those cancer patients who live alone? At least those who are married or live with a significant other or have kids do have some sort of interaction. They can receive hugs and kisses if their immune system permits. They can feel the presence of the other person in the living room while they are in the kitchen or in another room. It becomes a different set of circumstances for those cancer patients who live alone and don’t live near family to quarantine with during this time. Enjoying solitude soon gives way to crippling loneliness. It’s missing going out and having those small interactions while standing in line for coffee or the pharmacy. It’s missing being held. It’s missing having someone bring you a glass of water or help you get in the bed when you’re too weak. COVID-19 has taken away the ability for cancer patients to get those in person hugs and kisses. Instead, it’s through Zoom or Google.
Loss of Predictability
Cancer patients miss the predictability of their doctor appointments and getting lab work done. They miss the predictability of knowing surgery will get scheduled and the road to recovery can begin. Instead, COVID-19 has caused everything to halt at doctor’s offices and hospitals. Surgeries to remove tumors are delayed. The start of chemotherapy is delayed. The start of radiation is delayed. There is a delay for those in the survivorship stage to get their scheduled scans to make sure there is no evidence of disease (NED).
The fear and anxiety intensify as everything that was once routine becomes unpredictable. It becomes impossible to plan next steps in treatment due to delays and the unknown. COVID-19 has caused added stress because even filling a prescription can be delayed. No one thought surgery to remove a cancerous tumor was going to be delayed. The atmosphere in the oncologist’s office or hospital feels different. You can only be seen on certain days. The time is limited even more than usual.
Grief
The typical stages of grief cancer patients can often feel don’t apply in a COVID-19 world. There is no way to fully process the amount of loss that comes from a cancer diagnosis and getting treatments alone or being on the same floor in the hospital as the COVID-19 unit. The fear of going out in public and seeing those without masks not respecting your space has caused some to have panic attacks and become scared to leave their house.
These losses were abrupt with no warning to prepare. It becomes even more difficult to recognize if the sadness, confusion, fear, depression, nightmares, and anxiety are coming from the cancer experience, the COVID-19 experience, or a combination.
What is known is our mental health is suffering because both can kill but only COVID-19 is being treated with a sense of urgency that used to be shown for those treated with cancer.
A selection of suggested support groups during this uncertain time:
About the author:
Megan-Claire Chase, also known as Warrior Megsie, is a 4-year breast cancer survivor in Atlanta, GA. She is a sought-after influencer and blogger in the Young Adult Cancer community both nationally and internationally. Her blog, Life on the Cancer Train, is about her life post breast cancer (Stage IIA Invasive Lobular) and the struggles of being a young adult cancer patient/survivor while advocating for better treatments and resources. Megan-Claire’s writing is known for being authentic, raw, and informative with a twist of humor. It is also syndicated on Cancer Health Magazine’s website. She’s been a guest blogger for multiple cancer support sites including Lacuna Loft, SHARE Cancer Support, and Humor Beats Cancer. Megan-Claire was featured this year in The New York Times in April and People magazine in June discussing the concerns of receiving cancer treatments during COVID-19. Her cat Nathan (Natey) Edgar is her pride and joy.