COVID-19 and Cancer Review: Surgical Oncology, Telemedicine, and Mental Health

Shon Shmushkevich^1,2#, Massimo Baudo^3#, Mahmoud Morsi⁴, Mariam Khobsa⁵, Mohamed Ismael⁶, Ayah Hassan, A.⁷, Mostafa Rahouma⁸ & Mohamed Rahouma^9*#

¹Zanvyl Krieger School of Arts & Sciences, Johns Hopkins University, Baltimore, Maryland, USA
²Department of Cardiothoracic Surgery, Weill Cornell Medicine/New York Presbyterian Hospital, New York, NY, USA
³Department of Cardiac Surgery, Spedali Civili di Brescia, Brescia, Italy
⁴Department of General Surgery, Montefiore Health System, New York, NY, USA
⁵Department of Cardiology Overlake Medical Center, Bellevue, WA, US
⁶Department of Microbiology, High Institute of Public Health, Alexandria University, Egypt
⁷Department of Pharmacognosy, Faculty of Pharmacy, Cairo University, Egypt
⁸Department of Information Technology, National Cancer Institute, Cairo University, Egypt
⁹Department of Surgical Oncology, National Cancer Institute, Cairo University, Cairo, Egypt

Dr. Mohamed Rahouma, Department of Surgical Oncology, National Cancer Institute, Cairo University, Cairo, Egypt.

Keywords: COVID-19; Oncology; Mental Health

Abstract

Due to the spread of COVID-19, many medical institutions began to cancel/postpone elective procedures out of concerns for safety. The American College of Surgeons (ACS) and the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) recommended cancelling or postponing non-emergent surgeries since March 2020 [1]. This directly affected a wide range of oncological institutions, who had to adapt swiftly. With these policies in place, surgical waiting lists began to disproportionately grow [1,2]. Throughout this period, and leading up to today, many hospital resources have grown depleted and surgical staff and equipment have been repurposed [1].

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