with the re-containment all the indicators turn red, the League is alarmed

Operations and consultations postponed, diagnostic delays: for cancer patients, with the second hospitalization “all the indicators turn red”, warns the League against cancer on Tuesday.

“The welfare inadequacies of people with cancer observed during the first hospitalization are repeated in the second, worsening their situation”, underlines the League which has collected numerous testimonies. “My first appointment with my urologist at Hospital X for the management of my prostate cancer (detected in January 2020), scheduled for April, has been postponed to the end of July 2020”, testifies one of ‘them.

“For the follow-up of a stage 4 lung cancer, great difficulty in making appointments for thoraco-abdominal-pelvic scanners and brain MRI (imaging exams), answer from the secretariat: appointments are reserved for patients with Covid .. . “said another patient.

Safe places

The League “asks public authorities to act without delay, so as not to sacrifice cancer patients during the second wave of Covid”, in a statement. “It is not possible to wait for the end of the second wave or for a vaccine to act; screenings must not be interrupted despite the birth and all essential tests must be accessible,” said Professor Axel Kahn, president of the League Against Cancer.

“It is certain that tens of thousands of cancers will not be detected by the end of the year. Ultimately, this represents thousands of deaths that could have been prevented with early treatment,” he believes.

According to him, public authorities must launch a major communication campaign to reassure patients on the path of treatment and “above all, throughout the territory, safe places capable of guaranteeing the continuity of diagnoses, treatments and assistance paths. people with cancer, protected from the risks of nosocomial Covid “(contracted in a treatment institution, ed).

The recognized association of public utility invites interested parties to testify on the dedicated forum on its website (www.ligue-cancer.net) by phone (0800 940 939 choice 4) or e-mail ([email protected]).