Moving through the pandemic: Tips for living with Metastatic Breast Cancer

MANILA, Philippines — Cancer care in the time of coronavirus can prove to be challenging not only for patients with metastatic breast cancer but for health care providers as well.

The World Health Organization’s findings ruled out that patients with cancer might have a higher risk of COVID-19 than individuals without cancer.¹ While increasing cases can be scary, especially when you’re in a high-risk group, there are many steps you can take to reduce your risk of getting seriously ill with COVID-19.

With October being Breast Cancer Awareness Month, Pfizer Philippines is committed to doing its part to help Filipinos be more aware of how living with cancer can be supported even through this pandemic, by sharing the following tips:

1. Consult your oncologist

Health caregivers and cancer patients should talk to their doctors about their treatment plans especially when there are scheduled appointments. They should be kept, unless patients are experiencing symptoms that might put them at greater risk of catching the virus.

Physical consultation must be kept limited only to treatment sessions. Checkups can now be done online and most health care providers have switched to teleconsulting or consultation via online platforms to help maintain social distancing.

2. Plan your visit

Metastatic breast cancer patients who are currently undergoing treatment, if at all possible, should avoid taking public transportation. While not every patient can afford a private service, ICanServe Foundation Inc. offers free transportation services for indigent cancer patients without access to transport for their chemotherapy sessions. This service has since been available with the government’s mandate to put the country in enhanced community quarantine (ECQ).²

Now that several places have eased into general community quarantine (GCQ), patients who need assistance in going to their hospitals for treatment need only to coordinate through the ICanServe Foundation Inc.’s social media account, provide their address, medical history, and date of consultation and chemotherapy schedules.

3. Seek therapy for management of mental health³

Observing extra precaution from getting infected with COVID-19 is important but so is keeping the state of the patient’s mental health of equal importance.

Metastatic breast cancer is as much psychological as it is physical, and oftentimes the two intersect. Patients dealing with grief in the face of the constant unpredictability and upheaval of life with cancer may be able to seek comfort and help from mental health professionals to keep them calmer and centered.

4. Get some exercise

Fighting Metastatic breast cancer can induce fatigue in patients. Light exercises like 15-minute walks may help patients get a boost of much-needed energy rather than staying in bed.

Light exercises are proven to improve self-efficacy and encourage a ripple effect in making other healthy and balanced choices in life such as getting proper nutrition and sleep. Movement of any kind can also help out patients process their feelings in association with their affliction.⁴

5. Get creative

On days when patients feel uncertain and stressed, it is helpful for patients to take on hobbies and find creative outlets while they’re on home quarantine. Positivity attracts positivity, and like exercise, creative tasks can help patients feel immersed in a joyful process. Patients may find a sense of comfort in hobbies like watercolor painting, writing poetry, playing music instruments, and journaling.

At the end of the day, Metastatic Breast Cancer is not a life sentence. Whether you are staying at home or still undergoing treatments, please remember that the support of your loved ones and your willpower will help you endure almost anything. Life with metastatic breast cancer is no cakewalk, but the journey is still beautiful.

About Pfizer: Breakthroughs that change patients’ lives

At Pfizer, we apply science and our global resources to bring therapies to people that extend and significantly improve their lives. We strive to set the standard for quality, safety and value in the discovery, development and manufacture of health care products, including innovative medicines and vaccines. Every day, Pfizer colleagues work across developed and emerging markets to advance wellness, prevention, treatments and cures that challenge the most feared diseases of our time. Consistent with our responsibility as one of the world's premier innovative biopharmaceutical companies, we collaborate with health care providers, governments and local communities to support and expand access to reliable, affordable health care around the world. For more than 150 years,we have worked to make a difference for all who rely on us. We routinely post information that may be important to investors on our website at www.Pfizer.com.

To learn more, please visit www.Pfizer.com and follow them on Twitter at @Pfizer and @Pfizer News, LinkedIn, YouTube and like them on Facebook at Facebook.com/Pfizer.

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SOURCES:

¹ Coronavirus: What cancer patients need to know? , Online: https://www.fredhutch.org/en/news/center-news/2020/03/coronavirus-what-cancer-patients-need-to-know.html?fbclid=IwAR3UQy9cnIP1OtvT92w9Ac-C-Mp-BuE1nItanDMPsvRfvcwz5fRPBmVQ5oM 

² Groups provide carpool services to cancer patients attending chemotherapy during lockdown, Online: https://news.abs-cbn.com/news/04/07/20/groups-provide-carpool-services-to-cancer-patients-attending-chemotherapy-during-lockdown?fbclid=IwAR1mjqh0d8QoXA4TRw5mmZXVeENhqsKwNBR9O4W5aFD-WvNYSmWGRYVzogk

³ Ways To Support Your Mental Health With Metastatic Breast Cancer, Online: https://www.healthline.com/health/metastatic-breast-cancer/mental-health-support

⁴ 10 Ways To Support Your Mental Health With Metastatic Breast Cancer, Online: https://www.healthline.com/health/metastatic-breast-cancer/mental-health-support