Victoria W. Huang, BA1, Sarah A. Imam, MD2, Shaun A. Nguyen, MD3
1Case Western Reserve University, Cleveland, OH, USA
2Department of Health and Human Performance, The Citadel, Charleston, SC, USA.
3Department of Otolaryngology – Head and Neck Surgery, Medical University of South Carolina, Charleston, SC, USA
Material has not been published previously.
None of the authors have any conflicts of interest, financial or otherwise.
No financial support.
All authors contributed substantially to, and approve of, this manuscript.
Corresponding Author:
Shaun A. Nguyen, MD, FAPCR
135 Rutledge Avenue, MSC 550
Charleston, SC 29425
Phone: (843) 792-1356
Email: Nguyensh@musc.edu
Abstract
With the arrival of the coronavirus disease (SARS-CoV-2) in the U.S., care practice paradigms have drastically changed. Data from China suggests the new virus poses additional risks as case fatality of patients with cancer was higher at 5.6% compared to 2.3% of the general population. There are three proposed major strategies to address care for patients with cancer in this SARS-CoV-2 pandemic with postponing treatment for those with stable cancer, increasing personal protection provisions for cancer patients, and increasing monitoring if a patient becomes infected with SARS-CoV-2. In this present commentary, we discuss the unique mental health challenges and burdens of head and neck cancer (HNC) patients in the times of the SARS-CoV-2 pandemic and approaches to mitigate these stressors through telemedicine to reduce future burdens to the patient and the health care system.