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I am a Hodgkin’s Lymphoma cancer survivor (a type of blood cancer for those unaware). I was deemed in remission in January 2020. The coronavirus has caused pure disaster for Americans. As a cancer survivor, I have always been naturally rather cautious when it comes to that (also the fact that I have a graduate degree in preventative medicine).
I got a call earlier this week from my oncologist. They were reminding me of an appointment I had at the end of November. They also called to tell me (paraphrasing) “For all patients who are currently going under treatment for cancer or have been in remission, we are giving a warning about the holidays. It is very risky to travel.” I asked them for clarification about my own case, given that it was a blood cancer that I had survived. The nursing staff essentially told me “doctor’s orders, no travel. It’s up to you at the end of the day and we respect patient autonomy” (aka the ability for the patient to make their own decision about what to do with their body) “but, your oncologist states that it would be extremely risky for your specific circumstances. If you were to get it, we would be very worried about what else could be triggered from this” (such as pneumonia or influenza) “we would also be worried about potential serious consequences”. Given that the coronavirus is relatively new (in the sense of, we don’t know what exactly the long term…
