The head-spinning flow of news and information about COVID-19 may, at times, come across as contradictory or confusing. Information and advice about the virus seem to be changing by the hour—sometimes by the minute. Cancer patients may be especially vulnerable to COVID-19, because their immune systems may be weakened by their disease or treatments, so they should be particularly vigilant in staying up to date on evolving news and information.
Often, going straight to the source for reliable information is better than relying on news sites or (especially) social media feeds. Public health agencies offer sweeping recommendations and critical advice on how to weather the COVID-19 storm. For cancer patients, health care websites, like cancercenter.com and cancer.org, provide information patients need to help prevent infection and maintain their treatment schedules.
Here are some organizations that are offering comprehensive information on COVID-19.
The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC)
The CDC is the go-to national agency for information on U.S. public health and safety. The agency’s website has up-to-date information and announcements, guidelines for travel, tips on how to protect yourself from infection and what to do if you think you may have been infected. The CDC also offers information for people at high risk and those with families, as well as advice for COVID-19 patients with pets. It even has advice on how to wash your hands.
Cancercenter.com
CancerCenter360®, the Cancer Treatment Centers of America® (CTCA) blog, has developed a blog category with regular articles on information cancer patients need to know about COVID-19. The CTCA website, cancercenter.com, also has answers to common questions about the virus and cancer, as well as information on patient safety.
Other cancer patient-specific resources on the web include:
More resources
The World Health Organization website gives COVID-19 updates from countries around the world. The site also offers regular video reports and advice for physical and mental health.
Other public agencies that have pages with COVID-19 resources include:
- National Institute of Allergy and Infectious Disease
- National Institutes of Health
- The U.S. Department of Labor
- The U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA)
- The Environmental Protection Agency (EPA)
Also worth noting:
- The EPA provides a list of cleaning products and disinfectants it has approved for use against the virus.
- This page from USNews.com has links to COVID-19 resources for all 50 states.
- Johns Hopkins University created an interactive map, available in desktop and mobile versions, that track the number of cases of the virus in each country.
If you are in active treatment and are concerned about how the COVID-19 situation may impact your care, please contact your care team.
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