| Summary: | From a psycho-emotional standpoint, COVID-19 and cancer share several similarities
that can be useful for defining proposals for interventions to support and/or rehabilitate
patients affected by COVID-19 during the pandemic. Conversely, current experiences
with COVID-19 can be applied to improve the management of patients affected by
or surviving cancer. Common elements to both conditions include the unpredictable
nature of the event, a sense of loss of control over one’s health, the discovery of
one’s own vulnerability and the precarious nature of life, and confronting the risk of
death. Accordingly, both cancer and COVID-19 infection represent traumatic events
that are not easily integrated into an individual’s existing psychosocial functioning.
Raising awareness about the potentially enduring emotional effects of infection (even
after treatment has concluded), habitually encouraging patients to express their malaise
or wellbeing in all of its bio-psycho-social components (not only biomedical aspects),
developing and implementing strategies for long-term, multidimensional follow-up, and
personalized care are some useful interventions in oncology that can benefit patients
during the COVID-19 pandemic and beyond. The current pandemic has resulted in a
new, mass use of media and remote communication supported by the wide availability
of internet technology and mobile devices. While technology alone cannot fully
substitute the richness and depth of face-to-face interactions, they nonetheless provide
open channels for communication. The newfound uses of these modalities during the
COVID-19 pandemic can also be adopted for oncology patients, especially in cases
when there is a considerable distance between the patient and treatment center or for
patients with reduced mobility. In conclusion, healthcare professionals should capitalize
on the similarities between COVID-19 and cancer by adapting strategies developed
for oncological contexts to intervene promptly and provide support to patients infected
with the novel coronavirus.
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