Coronavirus is the viral disease affecting the global community. It is a pandemic which caused major crisis in the world due to lack of vaccine. Coronavirus also known as covid-19 is caused by the novel coronavirus strain. Initially known as 2019-nCoV which later renamed as SARS-CoV-2.
Coronavirus disease was first detected in Wuhan, china which eventually spread across the nation due to the rapid transmission of virus. On March 11, WHO declared covid-19 as pandemic and called for strict measures to curb the spread of infection. Till date around 199 countries are affected by coronavirus.
Coronavirus is spread through close contact with the infected person. The aerosol released by sneezing, coughing and talking contain coronavirus. This virus gains entry into the nearby person and cause respiratory infection. It commonly presents flu-like symptoms which makes it difficult to distinguish in milder stage.
SYMPTOMS OF CORONAVIRUS:
Fever, Cough, Fatigue, Shortness of breath, Loss of taste sensation and smell, Chills, Sore throat, Body pain and aches, Headache, Runny nose-initial symptoms.
In later stage, complication arises such as:
Pneumonia, ARDS (acute respiratory distress syndrome), several organ failure, Opportunistic bacterial or viral infection, Blood clots, Heart related problems.
CORONAVIRUS AND CANCER PATIENTS:
Cancer patients usually are immunocompromised. During the treatment or post treatment, cancer patients are kept under chemotherapy which lowers their immunity. As coronavirus infects immunocompromised individuals easily, strict precautions must be taken by cancer patients to avoid the transmission.
WHO recommended certain guidelines to restrict the spread of infection,
1. Close contact with patients suffering from acute respiratory infections must be avoided.
2. Avoid contact with face, eyes, and mouth after contact with a probably contaminated environment. Cover your face with mouth mask available at -Best healthcare service provider in India
3. Wash your hands repeatedly every 15-20 min for at least 1 min, especially after contact with infected people or their environment.
4. Avoid unguarded contact with farm or wild animals.
5. People with symptoms of acute airway infection should keep the distance, cover coughs or sneezes with disposable tissues or clothes, and wash their hands.
6. In emergency medicine departments, strict hygiene methods for the prevention and control of infection such as washing and sanitizing hands should be practiced. One can buy alcohol based hand sanitizer at -best medicine app in India
7. Individuals having low immunity should avoid public gatherings.
Apart from these precautions cancer patients should consider other precautions like,
-Cancer patients are advised to consult their oncologist about the treatment. If it can be delayed safely then those patients should stay at home strictly due to lowered immunity.
-If the doctor prescribes oral chemotherapeutic drugs, one can buy in bulk easily from Anti-cancer medicine supplier with online medicine delivery within 24 hours.
-Patients undergoing clinical trial for cancer should call up their clinical research team and follow their guidelines. In most cases, your oncologist will handle clinical research trial activities as they would regular care and treatment schedules will be at the discretion of your provider. Any nonessential appointments with research staff, such as questionnaires or research-specific blood work, may be postponed or cancelled.
Experimental medication available through clinical trials may be affected. As more personnel enter quarantine, shipments of medications may be delayed or simply unavailable. The research staff will inform you and your physician of any potential interruptions in treatment during this time and provide you with options.
If your medication becomes unavailable or a treatment delay would be too long, it is likely your physician will temporarily switch you to conventional treatment until the clinical trial resumes operation.
-If you have an appointment with oncologist, kindly call in prior and they may refer you to different clinic where covid-19 patients are not treated. This reduces the chances of contracting infection.
-If you by chance get infected with coronavirus, kindly consult your oncologist before starting or continuing chemotherapy. Few chemotherapeutic centres prefer covid-19 negative patients. Chemotherapy also makes you immunocompromised and therefore is withheld in case of covid-19 to help the body to boost immunity to fight against the disease.
-Do not step out of your home to buy medicines. Use Best medicine store online in India for Anti-cancer medicine provider at your doorsteps.
CONCLUSION:
Do not fret. Follow guidelines properly. Make best use of online pharmacy and grocery stores. Extra care is essential due to immunocompromised state to protect oneself against infection. Create awareness among your neighbours, friends and help them fight these difficult phase. Do not stress and use social apps for video call or chat to relieve stress. Talking with loved ones helps you stay happy. World cancer day is observed on February 4 to create awareness. “Together we are tougher than cancer.”