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Heidelberg (dpa) - In view of the increasing burden on clinics due to Covid 19 patients, experts warn against neglecting cancer patients.
"More and more oncological interventions are being postponed, diagnostic examinations and follow-up care are being reduced significantly," criticized the Corona Task Force from German Cancer Aid, German Cancer Research Center (DKFZ) and German Cancer Society (DKG) on Monday.
At the same time, the experts appealed to the population to strictly comply with the corona protective measures so that the number of new infections drops quickly.
The aim is to save the health system from collapse.
At the beginning of the corona pandemic, the specialist societies set up a task force to monitor the care situation for cancer patients.
The merger had already identified a “strained supply system” in the spring.
DKFZ boss Michael Baumann said in Heidelberg that if the situation at the clinics deteriorated further, care for all seriously ill people could no longer be guaranteed.
"These include in particular the 1400 patients who develop cancer every day."
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According to DKG boss Gerd Nettekoven, the situation at the clinics is much more tense than during the first acute phase of the pandemic.
In the first wave, top oncological centers surveyed by the task force reported over 90 percent changes due to the pandemic.
These concerned aftercare, psycho-oncology / nutritional and exercise therapies, and social counseling.
In these areas, a part could be captured over the phone or in video conferences, it said.
Survey results