How has the Pandemic affected you as a cancer patient/survivor

Chowdog

Reflecting a little bit about the FDA vaccine committee meeting today. Well, I am not happy. I haven't been happy with the whole pandemic response. We lost precious time in 2020 with the previous administration politicizing everything, from masks, to restrictions to vaccine. We had another window to do the right thing with the new administration during the spring, but the CDC chose the economy over doing the right thing by dropping the mask mandate. When I voiced my concern about CDC's mask decision in may on SMs, i was called anti science, or whatever names you can think of from both sides. Our government was too chicken $hit to even consider vaccine mandate/passport. It's embarrassing that with all the best tech companies in the world, we can't implement a reasonable digital vaccine verification system. So we let delta burn. In July, after all the evidence, CDC finally came out with some lukewarm/half hearted mask recommendation. meanwhile, we have been aware for awhile some governors have implemented anti vax/anti mask mandates, and we are finally "suing them?" So here we are, almost 1 year since EUA of covid vaccine, we are posting >150K new cases/day, almost 2K death/day, while FDA & CDC have no data to even back booster? Instead, I see a bunch scientists debating on SMs, some even weaving between pro vaccine/anti vaccine/ pro mask/anti mask lanes so they can get followers and book/podcast deals.

I just feel sick. I am grateful at least my county has mask and vaccine mandate, but that's not enough. it's just one county.

Rant over.

cm2020

chowdog....I hope your governor's kids recover quickly with no complications. As for your reflections on the pandemic, I agree completely and very much feel the same way. I had a very good cry about it last night.

sbelizabeth

One in every 500 Americans has died of Covid https://www.webmd.com/lung/news/20210915/1-in-500-....

In the beginning, signs on the outsides of stores read "masks required." Some places, like Costco and doctors' offices and airports, enforced this pretty well.

Early summer, when hope was rising, the signs read, "masks not required for those who are vaccinated." It meant that almost no one wore a mask, regardless of vaccination status.

Now the signs read "mask recommended, for both vaccinated and unvaccinated." And no one's masking in public, except me and maybe 2% of the other shoppers. And Delta continues to breathe contagion through a population that has already lost one in five hundred.

The simple, benign act of wearing a piece of cloth over the face in order to protect both the wearer and others, has become symbolic of the wretched polarization and narcissism that exists among us.

cm2020

I am convinced that if the diseases of the past that we have either eradicated or come close to eradicating were to have presented themselves now OR there had been internet (and all the things fueling the anti-vaxxer movement and fake news/cures now) that the population would die out. Absolutely NOTHING would be managed disease-wise. The one sentence that keeps coming to my mind over and over is "we are so damn screwed".

kathindc

At the beginning of the pandemic when numbers were rising at an alarming rate, I made the comment to my children that Mother Nature was not happy with us and was culling the human race. I know it sounds cold but it is how I was feeling. I follow a couple of biologist who are documenting the destruction of our oceans and the impact of global warming on Antarctica. Several months after my comment they posted this https://youtu.be/2cEXfJc6_d0 and it truly opened my eyes because it so eloquently said what I was feeling. We have got to change our ways or we will be facing more pandemics of this magnitude in our future and we won't have the luxury of another 100 years. Politics needs to be taken off ofthis, but that won't happen, so I don't see this ending anytime soon and hope it ends before we get to the end of the Greek alphabet. I so want to see my grandchildren in Japan, but that's not happening anytime soon. Virtual hugs on FaceTime just aren't the same.

Edited for spelling. I hate typing on an iPad.

Anonymous

At the beginning of the pandemic when the virus was running through the senior care facilities I thought our provincial leaders were culling the elderly.

I just read there's a large outbreak here in a daycare center. All the kids are COVID+. Daycare closed for 2 weeks. QC is allowing fully-vaccinated parents to work if they test negative. But who will care for the kids? A small percentage of kids die or have serious illness, but when you expose a lot, that small percentage is a large number. 🤬🤬🤬 Is it an emergency yet?

candy-678

So I must be crazy. Definitely in the minority.

I talked to a friend on the phone today. She mentioned that I was always welcome to come on one of her day jaunts with "the girls"---a group of her friends. She said she has been doing various things, mainly going to restaurants that she has not been to before. She went yesterday to Indiana-- we are in Illinois. Just up and called another lady and they drove there and ate in a good restaurant.

Now, no she does not have cancer. She is pretty healthy. She is recently widowed and is retired so she has been staying busy to keep her mind active. I, on the other hand, have low counts from the cancer treatment so I have to be more careful, and I just changed treatments and feeling kind of icky-- nausea and fatigue. So I really do not feel up to a day trip. So I shouldn't compare us. But...

What I am getting at is, doesn't people worry about Covid?! The lower 1/3 of Illinois -- where I am-- has 0 ICU beds. The hospitals are overrun. We are in a Pandemic. A public health crisis. Yes, mainly the unvaccinated (this lady is vaccinated), but the vaccinated can get sick too. I ask her if she worried about sickness. She said "No, not really. I do not think about it". REALLY?!

And I see on the news/sports about Busch Stadium in St. Louis--- across the State line from me-- being full of fans for a ball game. REALLY?!

Am I just a wuss? I stay at home. I isolate.

Weird world we live in anymore.

Anonymous

You're not crazy. Not a wuss. When hospital resources are low, needing any hospital care is a comorbidity. Hope she wears a seat belt.

Chowdog

a good article summarizing what happened at the fda meeting.

https://www.forbes.com/sites/stephenbrozak/2021/09/18/fda-and-pfizer-need-a-covid-19-reality-booster/amp/?__twitter_impression=true

Chowdog

Candy,

you are not crazy or in the minority. Despite my county having good vaccine uptake and relatively low covid cases vs other counties in CA , I continue isolating. I have only dined outdoor 2x since March 2020, after I became fully vaccinated and before CA fully reopened on 6/15. I have been tracking CA & local covid cases since the beginning. The minute our county cases started ticking up at the end of June/beginning of July, I returned to takeout only. I haven't traveled at all, not even road trips.

Like you, sometimes, I wonder if I am being too cautious, but at the end of the day, I am not willing to risk getting covid, not even the "mild" covid.

It's a hard pill to swallow, when many selfish people either deny the existence of the pandemic or think the pandemic is over once they are vaccinated.

AliceBastable

candy-678, You're smart, not a wuss. Hubby and I are in the process of trying to pass on concert tickets we've had for ages - first it was cancelled last year, then rescheduled. It's a venue that calls for vaccine proof or recent testing, plus masks for all, but the place has a bar and people will be drinking, so those masks will come off. Seating is elbow to elbow. It's a group I love, but I just won't go into crowds.

We are finally going out of town next month, but we're staying in a state park during the week, in one of a group of cabins that are pretty far apart. There's a lodge restaurant, but even pre-Covid, the tables weren't close together. Hubby has had to work all through the pandemic (a reduced schedule for part of it) in a stressful job, so he needs a physical break. This feels like a safe option. I've refused any other suggestions.

cm2020

Candy, you smart. Very very smart. We are also continuing to take as many precautions as we can.

kathindc

Chowdog, that was an interesting article. Thanks for posting it.Pfizer is really pushing the booster. I got Moderna and I’m glad I did. It’s showing a higher efficacy rate beyond a 120 days than Pfizer.

DivineMrsM

I've tried asking this of my local health dept and they don't get back to me: We hear of vaccinated people getting Covid but have there been cases of people who had Covid, got vaccinated and then got Covid again?

The pandemic restrictions altered the way dh and I functioned both at home and when out and about; a severe pruning back of all activities and socializing. I knew things would never go back to how they were, that you find a new normal. Once we were vaccinated, we didn't want to add everything back into our lives that we previously had. Like decluttering the Marie Kondo way, I pay attention to the people and activities that spark joy in my life and go in that direction as often as possible. It means a bit more solitude, but I'm finding out that's not a bad thing at all. It's a mixed bag, because there's a been a loss of innocence yet there are also valuable lessons learned. But I suffered loss of innocence when I received a diagnosis of metastatic breast cancer in 2011; the pandemic didn't top the devastating news of that year.

Anonymous

Divine - I posted a link earlier that found people with prior COVID infection and then vaccinated had superior immune response (hybrid immunity) than disease-only or vaccine-only immunity.

Anonymous

Correction - not as bad as universal DNR

https://idahocapitalsun.com/2021/09/18/no-idaho-is-not-under-a-universal-dnr-hospitals-wont-just-let-everyone-die/

kathindc

That’s a good question. I haven’t heard anything regarding that scenario. I need to look into that as one of my DDs got covid in 2020 and was vaccinated this year when her age group became eligible.

Chowdog

Divine, I recall seeing on twitter some people got covid in 2020 and got breakthrough infection in 2021, but not sure if these cases are true. You know possible bots try to discredit vaccine.

AliceBastable

SerenitySTAT, that Idaho story isn't true, apparently.

https://idahocapitalsun.com/2021/09/18/no-idaho-is-not-under-a-universal-dnr-hospitals-wont-just-let-everyone-die/

Anonymous

Alice - Thanks for catching that. Will edit previous post.

Peregrinelady

I live in Idaho and it is so scary to be in crisis standard of care. I just pray that no one I know is in a car accident or has a heart attack. It is so frustrating as I know people who just won’t get vaccinated, even fellow teachers. We have absolutely no Covid protocols. I am one of about 3 people who wears a mask in my school and I am just waiting for cases to spread. My friend’s daughter is in ICU with pneumonia and just got a positive Covid test, but my friend won’t admit that she has Covid, because “the hospitals say all the patients have Covid because they get more money.” This is the kind of ignorance we are dealing with here.

Anonymous

Peregrinelady - I hope your friend's daughter can recover. I don't know how your friend can be in such denial. Maybe she should get vaccinated so that the hospital is less likely to get their hands on her. 🤔

serendipity09

Candy - I don't think you're a wuss! I'm with you!

Our Covid cases have been going up since the beginning of summer. With our local team winning the NBA championship and HUGE watch parties taking place all over the county since May, or local state fair, small city festivals, a huge annual music festival going on right now, not to mention our MLB team being in the number one spot in our division and the beginning of the NFL season; I don't see the numbers going down anytime soon. We're at the highest positive cases since January.

I have several family members and friends who are vaccinated and have caught this variant and have had terrible experiences and still recovering. I don't want it! I am, and will continue to be cautious.

My son is in his last semester of EMT/Fire Science (Firefighter) and has cautioned me about going out, even to the grocery store, not because he wants me cooped up, but because he wants me around for more years. I've also been conversing with a firefighter who is currently getting rads daily right after me and he is telling me that there are so many people are literally brushing off their symptoms.

So I get it! If I can get away with doing outdoor activities without being shoulder to shoulder with others I will. Otherwise, I'll continue to do my best to enjoy other activities (which are limited) that don't put me at risk.

Sadiesservant

Interesting article in my local paper. On Sunday they have a pull out with commentaries from well respected community leaders. Today one column focused on a recent directive from our Ministry of Health. Apparently a letter went out this week to physicians encouraging them to start seeing more patients in person. It also indicated there may be changes to the fee structure for virtual visits.

What was particularly interesting to me is the columnist mentioned some patients not seeing their doctor in person for as much as 18 months, indicating that was clearly substandard care. I wondered what he would think of an MBC patient who has not seen their oncologist (or anyone at the Cancer Agency for that matter) for coming up to 21 months. I don't blame the docs - they are just following guidelines - but it’s ridiculous. How can they possibly judge the nuances of the disease when they can’t see me? They’re putting a lot on the patient to be clear about how they are feeling…

Anonymous

Sadiesservant - Hope you can get an in-person visit soon. I've been seeing my MO every 4-8 weeks except once when he was in quarantine. It can be frustrating.

Had my MO appointment this morning. The same clerk had his mask hanging off his ear again. When he called me to schedule my next appointment, I paused and asked him to put it on. He grudgingly obliged. Since complaining to the charge nurse didn't work, I sent an email to the hospital ombudsman with a photo. Hope this works.

wrenn

I would rather see no mask than under the nose or chin or hanging off ear. I badly want to ask them if they understand how a virus enters the body. Not through the chin.

Voting day here and anyone still quarantined after covid diagnosis can't vote unless they mailed in ballot on time. Hoping that it is mostly anti vaxxers who would likely vote cons.

Anonymous

I don't want to argue with him. Everyone else wears their masks. He seems to think he's special. In my email I asked that the whole staff be reminded. They shouldn't accept working with him maskless.

I voted early because of my appointment. 👍

DivineMrsM

We were recently in Virginia Beach and took the trolley bus on Atlantic Avenue. There were numerous repetitive recordings over the bus loudspeaker. What I liked was one specifically said, “Masks must be worn over the nose and mouth at all times while riding the bus." I think it would help if places specifically wrote those instructions about the nose and mouth on their signs or included those specific words in their announcements when informing people masks must be worn.

They could even include, “And none of this dangling off the ear, either.That goes for you, hot shot!"

Serenity, I am often one who speaks up and always appreciate others who do, so I’m glad you wrote your email and sent photo proof.

Anonymous

Divine - I got a response that they will look into it. They also included that some employees are exempt if completely blocked off by plexiglass. He is not. I have another appointment at the hospital tomorrow. I can go by the cancer centre to photograph the partial plexiglass wall he sits behind compared to the blood centre where they truly are blocked off. They're close to pissing off the wrong cancer patient. 🤬

Anonymous

Just saw this 🤣