Cancer patients in conflict settings experience significant barriers in accessing chemotherapy and radiotherapy as well as palliative care and psychosocial support. Now they face an additional possible risk of infection by SARS-CoV-2 novel coronavirus and the indirect impact of the COVID-19 pandemic on movement restrictions and their access to care. In this commentary, we highlight that despite the low COVID-19 burden in conflict settings like Gaza, COVID-19 could lead to further inequity in cancer care and poorer outcomes for Palestinians with cancer. This is due to the pre-existing shortage in cancer resources as well as the lack of context-specific guidelines to prepare for COVID-19 in war-torn settings.
Download full-text PDF |
Source |
---|---|
http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC7176064 | PMC |
http://dx.doi.org/10.3332/ecancer.2020.ed100 | DOI Listing |
Enter search terms and have AI summaries delivered each week - change queries or unsubscribe any time!