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Diagnosis of cancer is very stressful on individuals and their families. The lack of access to treatment can be devastating. The lack of access or availability to cancer treatment during disasters and emergency management can occur during natural disasters when people are cut-off from the rest of the community and cannot be reached or in a pandemic when the needed treatment must be withheld. Healthcare is impacted during a national disaster and that affects care that is provided. The high cost of cancer treatment can also contribute to people not receiving treatment they need. According to McMullen (2019), what an individual’s copay for a cancer treatment can amount to $12,000 out of the $100,000 the new cancer treatments cost not accounting for all the diagnostic testing, surgery, and the multiple specialist visits. This causes a burden on the individual and their families in deciding the type of care to receive.
According to an article on the impact of Covid-19 and how it affects people’s decision-making by Ghosh & Gupta (2020), during the pandemic, people had to make decisions on receiving treatment or management for end-of-life. Individuals have had to deal with the stress of making such decisions and most of them have been affected psychologically. Covid-19 and cancer are not the same but pose a greater impact on patients and families. According to Dhavale et al., (2020), due to the Covid-19 pandemic, non-emergent surgeries and treatments were postponed, facilities with high Covid-19 patient census were not admitting cancer patients because of their already compromised immunity. Cancer patients were considered high risk and treatments were delayed creating panic and anxiety.
Assistance programs have been established to provide help to those needed by pharmaceutical companies, charitable foundations and patient advocacy organizations. Brand-name medications are provided to people at low or no cost by the pharmaceutical companies to reduce the burden and grants are awarded by charitable foundations help pay some or all the co-payments for cancer treatment. (McMullen, 2019). The downside to such programs is the type of insurance the person has. People with federally funded health insurance to not qualify due to anti-kickback statute (McMullen, 2017). Cancer patients should be prioritized for treatment in any disaster just as individuals receiving emergency care. Nurses have a greater responsibility to assist these individuals by providing resources and assistance that is available to them. Teamwork and coordinating with care coordinators, social workers and physicians can make a difference.
Dhavale, P., Koparkar, A., & Fernandes, P. (2020). Palliative care interventions from a social work perspective and the challenges faced by patients and caregivers during COVID-19. Indian journal of palliative care, 26, 58–62. https://doi-org.aspenuniversity.idm.oclc.org/10.4103/IJPC.IJPC_149_20
Ghosh, D., & Gupta, B. (2020). End-of-life issues in the era of the COVID-19 pandemic. Korean journal of hospice & palliative care, 23(3), 162–165. https://doi-org.aspenuniversity.idm.oclc.org/10.14475/kjhpc.2020.23.3.162