KORLE- BU SUSPENDS CHEMOTHERAPY FOR CANCER PATIENTS OVER CORONAVIRUS FEARS

Breast cancer patients undergoing chemotherapy at the Korle-Bu Teaching Hospital have been asked to go home, because of uncertainty about the people they have made contact with, in the wake of the coronavirus outbreak.

The patients, who find themselves in a dire situation, allege that the health workers are withdrawing their services over fears of contracting the coronavirus because, they do not have Personal Protective Equipment.

In an emotional interview at her lonely home somewhere in the Central region, a stage three breast cancer patient who spoke to JoyNews’ Latif Iddrisu on condition of anonymity, said “asking us to stay away, is a nice way of telling us that go home and die.”

Like many other patients battling breast cancer, the directive for them to stay away as a precautionary measure, will erase all the progress they have made following years of chemotherapy and treatment.

The patient appealed to authorities to step in “so that we will not die.”

She continued “I am afraid because cancer spreads, so I cannot stay at home missing treatment and not knowing what is going on inside my body.”

This news is undoubtedly taking a psychological toll on the patients as this patient says “I haven’t been myself since the hospital called.’’ 

Responding to concerns raised by the patients, some of whom are said to be at the terminal stage of the cancer, authorities at the Korle-Bu Teaching Hospital corroborated concerns raised by the patients but said it was in their interest to stay away.

CEO of the facility Dr. Daniel Asare said “the directive is for particular patients undergoing chemotherapy. Because of Covid-19, if you continue to get immunosuppression, you are predisposing yourself to having severest form of Covid-19…so we asked them to stay off and give us a small break so that when Covid-19 is hopefully gone, they’ll know the new regime that they will work with.”