The COVID-19 Pandemic Impact on Cancer in Latin America

Abstract

COVID-19 pandemic has introduced a shift in accepted and routine handling of elective cases in hospital administration. This shift introduced a delay in the treatment of all non-COVID-19 cases, including cancer patients. Usually, non-complicated cases of cancer do not require immediate surgery, but procrastination is not an option. The pandemic is taking a longer time to be defeated as previously thought, and medical infrastructure is overwhelmed in many countries. Therefore, procrastination for non-COVID-19 cases became a reality. To this, we must add that there are specific cancer problems that require urgent resolution. The problem is having a heavy toll on almost all the involved continents. South and Central America are no exception. Unfortunately, South and Central America do not have all the resources available to the developed world, and this makes the issue of timely cancer surgery even more troublesome. A distressed hospital system needs a systematic approach to deliver cancer care in time. This paper has the intention to show how a Central American country such as Panama dealt and is dealing with cancer surgery in the middle of the severe limitations imposed by pandemics.