Keightley Amen

Cancer Nursing Today nonprod

COVID-19 has had serious consequences on financial stability and anxiety for patients with renal cell carcinoma (RCC), according to survey results published in a recent article in the World Journal of Urology. The article also identified patients with RCC who are at higher risk of experiencing financial distress.&ldquo;<a href="https://cancernursingtoday.com/page/gu-cancer">Advances in care for patients with RCC</a> have dramatically changed over the last decade, improving outcomes and increasing overall survival for patients,&rdquo; wrote the authors, led by Michael D. Staehler of the Department of Urology, Ludwig-Maximilians University of Munich. &ldquo;But advances in cancer care become meaningless if patients cannot afford them or if the patients&rsquo; prognoses continue to be determined by where they live or how good their insurance is.&rdquo;The online survey, conducted in March 2020, explored the pandemic&rsquo;s effects on patient anxiety levels regarding COVID-19, its impact on their attempts to get treatment, and any financial toxicity caused by the pandemic. The Kidney Cancer Research Alliance (KCCure) developed the survey with input from two surgeons, a medical oncologist, a psychologist, and a patient advocate. The survey also was evaluated by a group of patient advocates.The survey included 45 items to collect data on demographics, clinical information, treatment-related information, and anxiety levels related to COVID-19. It also included several items from the 11-item Comprehensive Score for Financial Toxicity (COST) tool, a validated scale that measures financial distress and cost concerns.The team sent the survey via email to the KCCure subscriber list (N?=?1,532) and also posted it on Facebook and Twitter. The survey garnered 539 individual responses from patients in 14 countries, for a response rate of 35%.Respondents were mostly women (58%), and the median age was 55 years (range = 24&ndash;87). Most patients were white (88%) and lived in the United States (87%). Most had college or graduate degrees (58%) and a household income higher than $50,000 (68%). Approximately half of the patients had metastatic disease.Analysis revealed that 23% of the respondents did not feel like they were in control of their financial situations. Female and younger patients were more likely to feel this way, as well as patients with:<ul>
<li>higher anxiety about getting COVID-19</li>
<li>higher distress about the possibility of cancer progression</li>
<li>homes in urban areas</li>
<li>lower incomes</li>
<li>lower educational levels</li>
<li>metastatic disease</li>
</ul>&ldquo;Acknowledging financial hardship and uncertainty related to future costs and providing thorough counseling of cancer patients should be part of the conversation during the pandemic,&rdquo; the authors concluded. &ldquo;Treatment and surveillance of RCC patients might have to be adjusted to contemplate financial and medical needs.&rdquo;

COVID-19’s Effects on Anxiety and Financial Distress in Patients with Renal Cell Carcinoma

GU Cancer

COVID-19 has serious consequences on financial stability and anxiety for patients with renal cell carcinoma, according to results published in the World Journal of Urology.