MCO 2.0 and cancer care

Don’t stop treatment: File photo of a patient undergoing a scan at a medical centre specialising in cancer care in France. — AFP

LAST year, the number of new cancer cases reported in Malaysia was 48,639 and the number of people living with cancer (for five years) was a whopping 128,018 (Global Cancer Observatory, World Health Organisation; 2020 figures). Central to this discussion is that there has been a reallocation of healthcare resources to cater for the influx of Covid-19-related hospitalisations.

During the first movement control order in March 2020, cancer-screening services were limited, cancer surgeries were postponed, and clinical visits and imaging appointments deferred. While these measures were taken to ensure that we had enough medical personnel, hospital beds and personal protective equipment to accommodate the high number of Covid-19 admissions, they resulted in widespread disruptions to cancer care service delivery in the nation. Cancer survivors were also torn between having to leave their homes to attend hospital appointments and postponing hospital visits to a later date due to fear of exposing themselves to the coronavirus.