Patients with cancer are at a higher risk of having a more severe COVID-19 illness. "Unfortunately, COVID-19 has severely affected those who are diagnosed with lung cancer," says Dr. Shanda Blackmon, a thoracic surgeon at Mayo Clinic. "We know that these patients who get infected with COVID-19 while they're immune compromised are increasingly susceptible to having a worse survival."
"The lung is basically an airway that passes from the throat down into the chest, branches to the right and the left, and has sacs that are air filled called alveoli. Any time a tumor forms inside any of those branches or inside the air-filled sacs, this is called lung cancer if it is originating from that area," says Dr. Blackmon.
"Unfortunately, during the COVID-19 pandemic, there have been significant delays in getting patients with a new diagnosis of lung cancer to treatment, says," Dr. Blackmon. "Patients who have been delayed in diagnosis and treatment are now suffering from possible advanced disease. We want to make sure that there are no delays in assessing patients with lung cancer and getting them in, diagnosed, staged and treated."
Treatment options for lung cancer depend on the stage of the diseases. The care of a patient with lung cancer and may involve a multitude of different types treatment including chemotherapy, radiotherapy or immunotherapy and surgery.
