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

HOW?!!!

11's 2 best friends just tested positive. I need to stop this runaway train of thinking, and not look at the stats, but it is nearly impossible to ignore.

I'm fully vaxxed but was sick as a dog with Covid starting Christmas Eve. I'm slowly feeling human again but I have a feeling it's not over. The cough is starting to set in.

I'm starting to feel like literally everyone is going to be exposed eventually. I was super SUPER careful and still got it, despite being vaccinated and careful with masks, washing, and distancing, to the point of germaphobia.

gb2115, isn't this affecting your treatment coming up?! Im sorry!

That's my fear. At this point I am fairly certain I will be told to postpone this surgery again. Its all around me, and I have a tickle in my chest now. I'm triple vaxxed, had covid 11 months ago pre-vaccine, don't eat out, don't shop. I Wear a kn95 or cloth over surgical at all times outside my apt including in the hall to take out garbage. I wait for empty elevators. Got my kids all vaxxed.

I've been off Ibrance for almost 3 weeks in prep for this surgery. I held off one treatment to prepare for the other and now covid fucks it all AGAIN.

I think the anti-mask/anti vaxxers should have all their medical treatments and medications withheld until the pandemic is over too.

wrenn, omicron is so contagious, unless you are a hermit in the woods, there is no way of really knowing where you got it. A colleague I spent time w on Monday tested for travel to his family, and was shocked on Thur eve when he got a positive result. asymptomatic. So, was I exposed? My 11's two good friends each separately told him they got positive results yesterday- they were all in school until Thu. DH co-worker's daughter came down sick now coworker has no smell. Another told him today he "has a cold". All these people are fully vaccinated, most boosted (not the kids yet) and masked. Its just out there now. And maybe its less virulent, which may be good in the long run, but it means people like us are screwed

Dancemom, probably. I need to call the surgeon tomorrow. I know pre-op won't want to see me tomorrow, I still have a fever.

It's disappointing. This mucks up work too, this may drain my FMLA before surgery. No good.

gb2115. So sorry you are having to deal with this along with worry about work and treatment. It isn't fair.

gb, If they really thought about how it is transmitted they would be more careful but since many people think it won't happen to them and that is all that matters to them it won't change. I wish someone who understood how pandemics work would have just shut the world down in March 2020 and it would have ended soon after dammit.

I can't imagine having to go to work or to medical treatments. What a nightmare. I am very lucky to be able to stay in and I still whine about it.

Australia shut international borders from the word go until recently. We had 2030 deaths in a country of 25 million. Just recently m, after huge pressure from the tourist industry, my state opened interstate and international borders and covid is now reaching all corners of the state. Hospitals are filling up fast. As you all know, cancer patients in treatment will risk infection or even delays in treatment.

I feel like I am living in the weirdest world anymore.

I am immunocompromised due to the cancer and the meds I am on for the cancer. I am no longer in the workforce, thanks to Stage 4 cancer. I have not been to an in-person church service since early 2020-- I watch the services live-streamed. I do my grocery shopping online with curbside pickup. I am literally isolating in my home. I only go out for true necessities--- doctor visits, etc. When I do go out, I double mask and use hand sanitizer, then scrub my hands when I get home.

You turn on the TV and see people standing in line for Covid tests (prior to celebrating Christmas with their families), see newscasts about the full hospitals, hear of the cases mounting up. You read this Thread, solely dedicated to the topic of Covid.

But... my sisters' family (lives in my area) their son (age 20) and their daughter (age 15) are not vaccinated, and don't intend to get vaccinated. They never wear masks. They go out and do what they want. They do not even wear masks when around me (so disrespectful in my opinion). And... today I talked on the phone with a friend (also lives in my area). He sounded congested. I mentioned that he sounded sick. He said "Yeah, it is a cold". Did he get tested? I doubt it, I didn't ask though. He said he started feeling sick early in the week. Did not miss any work. Went to a family get-together for Christmas. Went to his church service this morning. Said he is taking over-the-counter cold medicine and sucking on cough drops. Yes, it may be the common cold, but also may be the Omicron variant of Covid. And look at all the ones he could have infected by being out and about.

Why do people in my area, not just these 2 examples, act like Covid is not real. Like this is 2019 and nothing to worry about. These people in my life know someone that has DIED of Covid. But, they seem unaffected by that. "It is no worse than a common cold". "It is not going to alter my plans".

Wow. What a world anymore.

All of the above is what upsets me! The having to stop to treatment for stage 4 again because somewhere somebody else didn't care if they got covid cuz "it wouldn't make them very sick", then passing it on. I am sick and tired (literally) of those assholes preventing my treatment. YES, I fully blame anyone who thinks its a "choice". It wasn't my choice. Nor any of yours.

Snowdrop, thanks for the covidclinic.org info. my friend could be potentially exposed, and most of tests are all booked through early Jan.

Candy, I believe it depends on what type of treatment you are on. for example, the Pfizer oral antiviral pill that was just EUAed interacts with Verzenio and a few other cancer drugs.

https://www.fda.gov/media/155050/download

I believe one reason is people really don't understand how covid is transmitted. it's an airborne virus. When an infected person eats inside a restaurant or break room, the virus lingers in the air for awhile, unless the place is well ventilated.

the other part is the government shaped the narrative that you get your life back after you are vaccinated. Look, I get it, we want everybody to get vaccinated and beat the virus, but the government and some public health officials really need to be honest with people. they also downplayed breakthrough infections. I know vaccinated people after being exposed but before getting their covid results back were eating inside restaurants. like, why?

my county covid case rate jumped from 5/100,000 around thanksgiving to 10/100,000 on 12/13 and 25/100,000 on 12/18. math suggests ~90% of current cases are breakthrough cases.

if you haven't seen "Don't Look Up" on Netflix, please do. So much parallel between the movie and us covid response.

serenity 🤞 I'm feeling like as long as we can move forward in some way, it's good.

My middle kid just got her booster and the $100 incentive from my the city- i got mine too early for that. 11yr showed her the close, relatively "not-crowded" vax site nearish us where he got his 2 doses.

I won't be able to see oldest until after surgery, and her quarentine after her long planned new years eve plans- I'm not thrilled, siblings and dad furious.

Got through pre-op exam fine. Official covid test is Wed.🤞

Well, DC has a higher positivity rate higher than any state with NY and NJ coming in second and third respectively. Ugh