Transcript
My name is Axel Grothey. I'm a medical oncologist at West Cancer Center in Memphis, Germantown, Tennessee. I'm the director of GI cancer research here at the center. Of course, we're all affected by the COVID-19 epidemic, which has not spared any part of the country, and now it really presents a huge challenge how to manage oncology patients at the time of this crisis.
There are a lot of different aspects that we're all facing, being separated, for instance, from the outside world when we're not at work. On the other hand, the challenges we're facing when we're outside and when we're dealing with immunocompromised patients. It's not easy to perform social distancing when you still keep your clinic running.
That is one of the issues that we're facing, of course. Cancer does not wait for corona. The issues that we're facing by continuing to provide cancer care, patients on active therapies, on surveillance, etc., is we need to make individualized decision for each of our patients how to move forward, which visits we can save, postpone, move into telemedicine visits.
So the challenges we're facing right now as oncologists in the time of the COVID-19 crisis and as patients, of course, in shared decision approach is which treatments should be continued, what intensity of treatments should be continued, how do we handle our immunocompromised patient in the clinic environment.
I can tell you, for instance, our policy based on CDC recommendations until recently was not to wear masks routinely unless we were sick or we saw patients who were sick, then patients had a mask on. Every patient right now that enters the building gets screened, gets temperature check, hand disinfection.
Patients are allowed to wait outside in the parking lot for the appointments and then they get called in so that we reduce the traffic in our building, to make sure that we, at least as much as possible, observe social distancing.
We have not yet routinely tested every healthcare provider for corona infection, which I would actually like to see because we are at risk. We need to protect ourselves, our families, and our patients.
So what I've done personally, I have started wearing a mask in patient interaction and when I go out. I think the data are clearly emerging that this is a way to slow down the transmission of the virus. I've started wearing scrubs. I'm coming from a Mayo Clinic environment where we normally wore our full suit with tie. That's a big change in my outer appearance.
I'm wearing scrubs. I leave them at work and wash them once a week. I have 5 sets of scrubs so that, really here when I get home, I'm not bringing anything with me that has been in clinic. These are the precautions I personally take. I really limit going outside.
I've not stopped, let's say, walking out in nature or jogging, etc, because I do believe that's part of health maintenance, and actually also mental and emotional health maintenance for people who are right now constantly worried about the COVID epidemic (family, patients, etc).
