The Secretary-General of the German Cancer Society, the physician Dr. Johannes Bruns, pleads for a finer classification according to the urgency in the treatment of cancer diseases, especially against the background of the infection caused by SARS-CoV-2, since up to now patients requiring treatment have only been divided into two categories. There is the category „elective“, which provides for medical interventions for cancer without urgency, and the category „urgent“, which – as the term already suggests – cannot be postponed. In addition, Bruns appeals to patients with suspicious symptoms not to stay at home simply because of the danger of infection, but to start cancer treatment with expertise. Patients have postponed appointments due to fear, doctors due to the fact that they have to keep capacities free. This led to people with suspicious symptoms not going to the doctor as usual, mainly in March and April. As a result, people with suspicious symptoms did not get a diagnosis at all or were diagnosed too late, which can considerably reduce the prognosis of cancer. This is because cancer screening appointments were also cancelled or postponed by the medical profession because of the corona pandemic. The mammography screening programme for breast cancer patients was even temporarily suspended. The therapeutic measures, on the other hand, remained largely stable, partly because not every cancer treatment has the same urgency. According to figures published by the Scientific Institute of the AOK, (WIdO), the decline in care and treatment was not significant for breast cancer, while a decline in prevention and therapy was observed for colorectal cancer. Colon cancer surgeries, for example, decreased by 22 percent. The effects of other operations were more severe, for example, hip operations, which fell by 65 percent. German Cancer Aid estimates that approximately 50,000 planned cancer operations had to be postponed until mid-June due to the COVID 19 pandemic. However, not only were screening appointments postponed but also post-operative care began to falter, which also led to uncertainty among many patients with severe diseases. Slowly, however, (psycho-)oncology has returned to normality. Corona is increasingly moving into the background. The fact that cancer has been diagnosed at a later stage is also having an unfavourable effect in this respect, as it means that many free capacities are currently used up.
