Unfortunately, we are not sure when the pandemic would end, and even further, how long the after-effects of the virus would last. But we are trying to understand the disease and its implications on us and what are the preventive measures that can be taken in the future.

Shahid Akhter, editor, ETHealthworld, spoke to Dr. B.S. Ajaikumar, Chairman and CEO, HCG, Bengaluru, to know more about the challenges and impact of Covid-19 on cancer care.

Covid-19: Pandemic Scenario

The Covid-19 pandemic has been raging across the world for the last few months, and unfortunately, we have borne the brunt of it.

In India, the spread is such that we are witnessing over 50,000 new cases being registered every day. In spite of the government declaring a lockdown for the better part of the last few months, we have not been able to curtail the spread to a wishful extent.

The economy suffered quite the damage, but above all, the healthcare industry took a massive hit, both in terms of the actual business and the damage to human lives.

Covid-19: Challenges for the Cancer Patients

We, at Healthcare Global Enterprises Limited (HCG), treat oncology patients across the country, including Tier 2 and 3 cities. One of the critical side effects of lockdown faced by these patients was the difficulty in accessing the cancer centres for their treatment.

We always urge our patients to not fear cancer but to fight it with positivity because fear is always far worse than the reality. Similarly, ever since the spread of Covid-19 started, we have been urging our patients to not fear the virus, and focus on beating cancer instead.

Our team of doctors and counsellors have been in regular touch with the patients, advising them on their course of treatment, and keeping their spirits high. HCG is also at the forefront of research for Covid-19. We were the first ones to get plasma therapy recognised and did a trial approved by ICMR.

Similarly, we have also introduced measures such as Cytokine therapy, and various others to see how we can contribute to society and fight the war against this virus. Our doctors, just like doctors all over the world are our warriors, fighting this war for us.

Unfortunately, we are not sure when the pandemic would end, and even further, how long the after-effects of the virus would last. But we are trying to understand the disease and its implications on us and what are the preventive measures that can be taken in the future.

At HCG, we abide by all the necessary precautions to make sure that our patients are well-protected. We have taken measures ? safe distancing, wearing masks, washing hands, and identifying suspected cases early, so that, there is no spreading of the virus internally to our patients and staff. We did have a number of cases, but thankfully, they all recovered and are back to work.